Frigus Armum
by Demon of Zero
Summary: Despite coming from a family of heroes, Jaune Arc wasn't quite there yet. He dreamed of attending Beacon Academy and becoming a master Huntsman. But for now, he was just Jaune. And one of his sisters wanted him to go ice-skating with her. Jaune wasn't the best at it, but what could possibly go wrong? Well, when it involved him that was just about everything.
1. Chapter 1

I'm not going to lie, I legitimately have no idea what the hell I'm doing right now. Here I am, already managing two stories with others pending rewrite/discontinued, and yet something else has come to mind and I just can't stop myself.

Not to mention my friend/betareader of sorts is actively egging me on... anyway. I figure I'll give a summary of what brought this on.

I watched a movie and thought to myself "y'know this guy has some neat powers, wonder how someone else would do with it." so I wracked my brain for people who were a good match for that specific protagonist.

Who came to mind? Jaune Arc.

Yeah. Him.

So, this happened. This story isn't a crossover, so I'll just let you all guess who Jaune is based off of here. I'm sure it'll become obvious considering I've literally stolen the backstory for usage here but tweaked it somewhat for Remnant.

Also. What the heck is this? A story that ISN'T Code Geass, coming from me? It must be the end of the world...

Disclaimer: I don't own RWBY or anything else.

* * *

Winter had finally arrived, bringing with it a thick blanket of snow. The first snow of the year as a matter of fact, and such a perfect example of it. White sparkling as far as the eye could see, covering the ground, the trees, the buildings... it had simply swept in during the night, leaving behind a perfect blanket of the frozen white.

Of course, this meant one thing and one thing only for the local children; snow day.

As such, one could see wide grins and hear laughter all around as children ran, jumped, rolled, slipped and slid all about through the winter wonderland they had been presented with that morning.

The adults were less enthused in many cases, seeing the true annoyance that the snow brought, how it hindered them from going about their business... but in the face of such enthusiasm and cheer, the minor inconveniences paled in comparison.

Jaune Arc was not the type who particularly liked the snow. He didn't dislike it either, though. It was just that he didn't share the same enthusiasm as all of the frolicking children.

His sisters, however, did. All seven of them.

And since they enjoyed the snow so dearly, he had learned to love it if only for the smiles it brought to their faces.

Seeing their faces light up each and every year at the first sign of the falling snow, waiting anxiously to see whether or not the flurries would evolve into something more, praying for the snow to stick...

It was addicting, in a way.

Ice skating, however... he never could get himself to enjoy that particular activity. His balance wasn't the greatest. But, despite that he was happy to come along with one of his sisters to play on the ice of the frozen pond near their home.

Everyone else had gone out for the day to visit the town; stocking up on groceries in case the snowfall got too heavy to do so later. They had drawn lots, and the two longest had stayed home.

Originally, Jaune had intended to settle himself in with a glass of hot cocoa and read the latest issue of his favorite comic. That was just what he felt this weather was perfect for; curling up before a window, relaxing with a light blanket over his shoulders and just watching the world outside as he enjoyed one of his most beloved pass-times with a hot beverage.

It would certainly have been more relaxing than the situation he found himself in now.

"Alright, d-don't panic." He stammered out, eyes wide and fearful as he saw the cracking ice beneath his sister's feet. The terrified girl stared back at him, her face a mask of fear and nervousness. Seeing that, Jaune steeled his expression. Someone had to be brave here, and it looked it that was going to be him.

"Don't worry. It'll be fine." The ice beneath his own two feet crackled ominously, as if to contradict that statement, but he paid that no heed.

His sister came first.

"Look, just stay still okay? Don't make any sudden moves." Frantically, his eyes darted around for something, anything, he could use to salvage this situation and save his sister.

Spotting something on the ice a few feet away, he swallowed heavily as a plan came to him. "Alright, yeah. Look, this isn't scary at all okay?" He assured his sister with a bright smile, drawing an incredulous confusion from the girl.

"How can you say that, Jaune?" She hissed in panic, frozen stiff on the cracked ice, unable to move for fear of shattering the precarious platform she rested on.

Jaune's expression didn't slip for even a moment. "It's fine. Say, let's play a game alright?" Seeing the confusion in her eyes, the boy smiled widely. "I'll go first, okay? It'll be like... hop-scotch!" He gave her a wide smile, reaching down to slip off his skates.

Managing to get the cumbersome things off of his feet without further damaging the ice beneath him, Jaune bit back a gasp at the sudden cold on his bare feet. She had pulled him off with her before he could even get his socks on, and he had just decided to go with it. Good grief was that cold.

He ignored the sensation in favor of sending his sister another smile. "Instead of being scared, we're going to have some fun." Lifting one foot cautiously, hiding a flinch at the crackling sound it drew from the ice beneath him, the boy gently sat the raised foot down on the ice.

More cracks greeted him, but Jaune ignored them. The ice held, perhaps only just, but he pretended it was all according to plan. "Whoaaa!" He grinned widely, pretending that he had lost his balance in a very blatantly false gesture, drawing small giggles from the girl at the absurdity of his behavior. Another step, and another, and one final step... and suddenly, the ice was firm beneath his feet once more.

Jaune Arc had made it from the thinner ice, and was now staring at his sister with a wide smile. "See, easy as one-two-three." He ignored the furious beating of his heart and the cold terror swimming in his being, presenting a front that no one could possibly see through, a wide smile that seemed too genuine to be false.

The girl nodded, her own fear being pushed away by her brother's actions. If her blonde goof of a brother could stay calm in this situation, so could she.

"Okay." Jaune spoke, kneeling down to grip the large branch he had spotted on the ice. It was nearly as long as he was tall, straight all the way to the very end of the limb, ending in a hook just that seemed just large enough to circle his sister's waist. Testing the firmness of the wooden limb, he very nearly released a sigh of relief as the wood proved to be sturdy.

This would work. It had to.

"Alright. Just a few steps. Come towards me. One..." He gave the girl an encouraging smile, eyes sparkling with fondness and hiding his fear entirely.

She took a single step. The ice crackled but the girl did not fall through.

"Two."

A second step. More terrifying noise from the ice beneath her feet, but still it held firm.

"Three."

At this last word, Jaune's facade very nearly broke. His sister took one last step forward, the ice letting it's protest be known quite loudly...

The blonde boy shot out, reaching out towards his sister with the limb. It hooked around her waist, and Jaune used every last bit of his strength to tug the girl off of the fragile ice and towards the solid ground several feet behind him, landing her into the soft snow on the banks. She tumbled a bit, a testament to the amount of strength he had put into that pull, but was not injured.

However, in his focus to save his sister, the boy had not realized that the momentum had sent him reeling a few feet uncontrollably.

Back on to the thin ice.

Just as his sister sat up, ready to celebrate the averted crisis with her genius of a brother, congratulate him for being so calm and collected despite the situation, to apologize for dragging them out without any supervision...

Jaune Arc only had time to send his sister another warm, loving smile as the ice shattered beneath his feet, dropping him into the freezing depths of the lake.

* * *

Cold.

Quiet.

Weightless.

This was the sate that Jaune Arc found himself in, blue eyes gazing skyward, almost disbelievingly wide.

Above him, through the distorted effect of the water, he could see the shattered moon of Remnant, framed by the hole he had fallen through to reach this state.

He had always wanted to be a hero. But, unlike others in his family, he had never been formally trained. His goal was to become a Hunter, to protect those who couldn't protect themselves. Not for glory, not for fame, but for a simple satisfaction of having done something good. To be able to look back on his actions and say, without a doubt, that he had no regrets in the things he had done.

And, strangely enough, he couldn't help but feel he had done just that.

Moments before, he had saved his sister's life with his own two hands and a crooked piece of wood. Without his actions, it would have been her life fading away beneath the ice.

Oh... that was right. He _was_ dying, wasn't he? Yes, of course... he couldn't breath underwater. He hadn't taken a breath before being plunged under the sheet of ice that covered the lake. He was cold, but something told him it would only last a little longer... thoughts became less clear.

Staring up at the shattered moon, Jaune Arc couldn't help but feel like he had at least died for something he loved.

Someone he loved.

A sound pierced through the quiet that surrounded him. A scream?

There it was again! So loud, that even in his bizarre dreamlike state he could hear it clearly... but not. He heard something, but the words... no, no, a third shout rang out and he could glean meaning from the sound.

Jaune. His name.

Who would be calling him at a time like this?

His sister.

He had left her. Alone.

Sure, he had saved her life, but now she was alone. And he would be gone. Forever.

His life for the life of his sister. It seemed like a fair trade only just a moment ago. But... then why was it he suddenly had regrets?

Jaune Arc would be recorded as the boy who had heroically traded his life for that of his sister, leaving behind his family of nine others.

Mother, father, and all of his sisters.

The boy who had left them behind.

He refused to leave them like that.

Jaune would not, _could not_ , hurt them in such a way.

This would not be his last day on Remnant; he would not submit to this fate.

Suddenly, he could feel once again.

The cold was present, it had never left. But now, it's presence was comforting rather than foreboding. His hands, though still cold, were not unfeeling. His mind, though still somewhat sluggish, was no longer shutting down. Thoughts swam through his head, buzzing about in an attempt to salvage the situation.

He was cognizant. He couldn't breath. The cold was there, but he didn't feel it. Or maybe he did. Just not the same way he had moments before.

Before, the cold was an enemy. It wanted to take him from his family, drag him into the depths never to see the light of day again.

Now... it was something more. All of a sudden, the cold was no longer his foe; instead, it was his ally.

Blue eyes stared widely at the shattered moon, framed through the broken ice and distorted by the freezing water. Lips curled back into a smile, revealing startling white teeth even as a pale blue glow began to emanate from the body of the sinking teen.

He needed a foothold to propel himself back towards the surface.

The water directly beneath him was suddenly solid.

Jaune Arc's foot touched down on an inexplicable pillar of ice which had grown from the bottom of the lake.

His legs, once numbed by the frigid waters, were responding to his thoughts without issue. He kicked off of the ice below him, the force propelling him straight up towards the hole he had made in the first place.

A hand broke through the surface of the water, sending the icy liquid flying from the sudden disruption.

He needed something to hold on to, to drag himself from the water.

The hand found purchase. Suddenly, the smooth ice had become a perfect handhold, seemingly fitting his hand as though it had been made for it. Another hand shot out, another indent appeared in the ice, matching to his hand almost entirely.

At last, a head broke from the water, sending more of the liquid flying into the air as he gasped for breath, greedily sucking in the air even as his body continued to move.

He needed to get out of the water.

More indents appeared in the ice seemingly at random, providing the teen more leverage to pull himself out, leaving just his lower body trapped in the drink. Something came into existence below his feet, allowing him to push himself out of the water completely, landing stomach first on the thin ice that he had fallen through in the first place.

It did not crack. In fact, not a single sound of protest came from the ice beneath Jaune Arc as he lay, his breathing unsteady even as he coughed water from his lungs.

"J-Jaune?" A tearful voice asked, disbelieving.

In response, the downed teen managed to turn towards his sister, eyes meeting her own.

He smiled. A warm, tender, loving smile.

"Hey. I'm-" A short cough cut the teen off, making him shake his head at the ruining of his cool moment, before he continued. "I'm glad you're okay." He announced, slowly moving to a crouch. The action frightened his sister, who had seen him fall through the ice mere feet from his current spot, but he shushed her protests with a raised hand. "It's fine, don't worry." He assured her, smiling that same smile, as if he had nothing to worry about.

"B-but..." Eyes widened as a sudden realization hit the girl. Her brother was different. His blonde hair had paled to white, like the snow all around her. Had his skin always been so pale? Was it just because he was cold? He had to be freezing, the water was still dripping from his jacket, and yet he didn't seem to care at all.

Jaune Arc continued to smile as he settled into a kneeling position, grabbing that same stick he had used to save his sister from falling into the frigid cold lying beneath the solid ice. Frost seemed to spread across the limb, criss-crossing in spectacular patterns and quickly covering the fallen branch from top to bottom. The stick was placed on the ice beneath the teen, being used to help the boy to his feet. The bare feet soon settled firmly on the ice, with not a single creak in protest from the sheet of frozen water, and the boy began to laugh.

Standing tall and proud, the teen couldn't help but look around himself at the world he inhabited. This frozen paradise he had only ever admired at a distance was suddenly right before him, clearer and crisper than ever before.

He was cold. It was so, so cold right now. He was covered in icy water, his hoodie and jeans soaked through, he probably had another good ten pounds in extra weight just from the water seeped into his clothing.

And despite all common logic, it didn't bother him in the slightest. The cold was not something that brought him discomfort, not anymore.

Throwing his hands behind his head and grinning brightly towards the teary eyed form of his baffled sister, the boy began to step jauntily towards her, pausing only momentarily to snag his ice-skates on the end of his hooked branch. Bare feet padded gracefully on the ice, unhindered by the slippery substance or the freezing cold that should be holding his body in place.

Soon enough, he was right before the trembling girl, who seemed to be in disbelief of the situation even as her brother leaned towards her face with that same grin.

Quirking a brow at the lack of reaction from the girl, the teen shrugged before resorting to one of his favored tactics when gaining the attention of a spacey sister.

"Ah! Jaune, let go of my nose!" The girl squeaked at the sudden feeling of two icy fingers pinching her nose, glaring at the perpetrator balefully.

Releasing the girl's nose with a chuckle, the boy poked the offended appendage. This earned him a petulant pout from the displeased girl.

Moments later, that expression melted away. "... are you okay?" She asked quietly.

A grin stretched from ear to ear on the teen's face as he prepared his reply. "I've got an _ice_ feeling about today, actually." He began cackling wildly at the unamused expression his response had drawn from the girl. "But, really, I'm fine. I feel really good, actually." Better than he'd ever felt before when standing barefoot in several inches of snow. "Say, let's go home shall we? I could really use a cup of hot cocoa."

* * *

Nearly a year after that fateful day, Jaune Arc found himself standing before a night club.

Yes. A night club. Quite the successful club, too, despite it's many... less than legal dealings.

Nothing that could be proven, of course; Junior was nothing if not thorough in covering his ass. Not a single criminal activity could be pinned on the owner of The Club, nor could anyone accuse him of intentionally harboring criminals seeing as how there was no concrete evidence.

So it remained the best worst kept secret in Vale that Juniors club was the place to go if you were looking for contacts in the criminal underworld of Vale.

And unfortunately, Jaune was doing just that.

'I can't believe I'm actually doing this.' He thought to himself dully, inspecting the surrounding area with a dry expression.

It was very much what one would expect of an area reputed to be frequented by seedy individuals. Many of the buildings in the area were old, not decrepit but simply aged and worn. The whole area seemed to be a myriad of dark, drab grays and blacks, with the occasional splotch of rusty red or brown here and there to denote just how aged some of the structures were. Above were the overpasses that allowed traffic to travel from one end of Vale to the next with little issue, the sound of cars a constant symphony.

Frankly, the fact that three different people had tried to mug him thus far only highlighted the fact that he was in a bad part of town. Icing on the cake as it were.

The teen sighed, brushing his snow-white hair out of his eyes. Standing at six feet, the pale teen painted a fairly intimidating picture to what few onlookers there were on the street as he glowered at the entrance to the club.

While the black hoodie, with it's pale blue insides and white sleeves, combined with simple blue jeans didn't make for a particularly menacing picture, the fact that he had armor over top of it at least gave a few of the wannabe tough guys pause. The armor itself was simple, but well made. Held to his chest via brown leather straps was a white breastplate, with armor sweeping around his under-arms to meet at his back. His shoulders were likewise covered by more of the white metal armor, secured with strong leather straps.

At a glance, one could tell this was not just random junk heaped together; it was actual legitimate armor, simple but strong. People didn't just wear that as a fashion statement.

Of course the three guys that had attempted to mug him on his way here were not aware of that. And so each of them were taken by surprise when he had just knocked them around with his good ol' beating stick.

The same stick he'd picked up nearly a year back had transitioned into his favored tool for combat.

It was a combination of factors that made Jaune Arc look moderately intimidating as he released a gruff sigh, bare feet plodding towards the entrance to the night club with purpose. The fact that anyone in his immediate vicinity found themselves subject to temperatures noticeably lower than they had experienced before entering his bubble was the most notable of these factors, but the large hooked stick slung carelessly over his shoulders as he walked may have contributed somewhat in addition to his rather chilly demeanor.

He did not like what he was doing right now. Not entering the night club, oh no. That part was fine. If he hadn't intended to do something illegal and immoral while there, the place would honestly be a decent hangout.

But he _was_ doing something illegal and immoral.

Jaune had no formal training to his name; none whatsoever. Everything he had ever learned had been through experimentation and observation, and that left him rather under qualified for the school he aimed to attend.

Beacon Academy was not just another school. It was _the_ Hunter School in the kingdom, almost every hunter aspirant wanted to shoot for Beacon.

Most of these aspirants would have actual combat schools in their history, such as Signal.

He, on the other hand, did not. And that left him in a situation.

So what better way to remedy that fact than simply re-write history? Or in this case falsify history.

Jaune Arc was entering The Club tonight in search of someone who could forge transcripts to help him attend Beacon Academy, and it left a rather sour taste in his mouth.

'What if this ends up backfiring?' He couldn't help but ask himself, thinking of the many ways this could go wrong. For one, he had no idea what even constituted as good forgeries. Anything pathetic would be obvious, but if someone made their work _just_ good enough to pass his inspection only for it to fall flat later... well that would certainly cause issues.

Not to mention, Jaune had no idea how much this would cost. He had the entirety of his savings with him, every penny he had ever pinched over his seventeen years of life... but would that be enough? He didn't exactly lead the most prosperous lifestyle, even if he did accumulate a fair amount of funds from various jobs in the time he had been away from home.

But one way or another, he _had_ to attend Beacon. He would find no better place to learn how to be a Hunter than that prestigious academy, and he needed to learn from the best so that he could have a real shot at living out his dream.

Even if the means to do so were dishonest, Jaune Arc would not surrender the dream he had held all these years.

With that thought bolstering his resolve, the white haired teen made to step into the club...

... Only to be barred by the bouncer at the door. "No shoes, no service." The man deadpanned gruffly, gesturing towards the boy's lack of footwear.

Jaune blinked. "... huh." Turning to regard the bouncer, he inspected the man thoroughly.

Cheap suit. Cheap sunglasses. Cheap, though admittedly cool, fedora. Cheap fancy shoes.

... okay maybe they weren't _that_ cheap but the point stood. This man was very much what Jaune would refer to as a goon.

And as such, he was relatively unconcerned by the glare the man was leveling on him. Confidence was key, just like dad always taught him. "I don't see a sign anywhere." He pointed out to the man with a quirked brow.

"Don't need a sign. But you do need shoes." The man's response was delivered in a very dry tone, making it clear that he had no intention of playing along.

Jaune sighed at that. No sense of humor, these guys. "Right. I'm gonna go in now, and if you try and stop me then I'll just knock you out and maybe take _your_ shoes. Cool?"

Perhaps a year ago Jaune wouldn't have been confident enough to make such a threat, but this was a different Arc. He had spent most of his waking hours messing with his Semblance in order to learn just what it could do.

And in his experimentation, he had learned quite a bit about how to make use of his power.

The bouncer stepped out of the way, mockingly directing him forward. "Go right ahead."

With a shrug, the white haired teen did so.

He idly lifted his weaponized stick to deflect the clumsy punch launched at him, before swinging said stick into the man's gut. As he fell to his knees from the impact, Jaune lightly prodded his upper body with the hooked end of the branch.

"H-Hey, what the hell!?" The man began to freak out as his chest was quickly covered with ice, freezing his arms to their position clutching at his stomach.

A chuckle slipped from the white haired teen as he waltzed past without a care. "You need to chill out." Jaune cackled madly at his pun, before slipping into the nightclub.

'Holy crap that is loud!' Jaune couldn't help but think to himself as he walked in, the blazing music slamming into him like a wall. Acclimating himself to the new noise level for a moment, the teen shook his head and took a look around to see if he could spot his man.

He'd never met Junior before, but the descriptions he'd been given made the man out to be rather easy to pick out from a crowd. Glancing over the club, he eventually landed on the bar, where a rather large man was wiping out a glass. He couldn't help but wonder if that was just something bar tenders did to occupy themselves or if those glasses were just that hard to keep clean.

Shrugging, the teen made his way towards the counter, dodging through people as he went. A few close calls and insults from those same close calls later, Jaune finally made it to the bar counter and found himself face to chest with the giant of a man tending to the counter.

"... aren't you a little young to be in here, kid?" The big man deadpanned, looking over the teen with a critical eye as he continued to wipe out the glass with a cloth.

An irritated huff came from Jaune at that. "This kid has some questions for you, Junior." This caught the attention of the man, who nodded at him to continue. "Word on the street is that you've got a reputation for knowing things, knowing people."

A gruff laugh came from the man. "Learned a lot of things in my business, snowball. What exactly are you looking for?"

Ignoring the crack at his hair color, Jaune pushed on with his request. "I need a forge, Junior. A good one." He added that last part with a distinct emphasis that the big man caught. "If you know somebody and are willing to send me to them or vice versa, I'd be grateful." His gratitude came in the form of lien, of course, what little he could spare from his savings in order to locate a forge. It was a calculated amount that would definitely be enough, perhaps more than enough, for an "upstanding" businessman such as Junior to introduce him to someone.

Nodding again and accepting the offered cash without a word, the man seemed to be thinking for a few moments. Likely he had dozens of potential recommendations to give out, and was deciding which would be best for this situation. After a moment, he leveled a serious look towards the white haired teen. "What do you need them to do? I need to know how good the work has to be."

Jaune let out a deep breath. "I need false transcripts so I can get into Beacon." He admitted, frowning at the thought. "I've got no formal training, and because of that I'm not qualified. I need to be able to fool the headmaster."

"Alright." Junior put a hand to his chin, having set the glass and cloth down moments before. "I know who to send your way." She would probably like this job, just for the entertainment value. "Gonna let you know now; this won't be cheap. Documents like what you need are gonna cost an arm and a leg." Possibly his own limbs, but if he could get someone else's that would work just as well. The girl was crazy as hell, but manageable... sometimes. She could conduct business at least. "Hang out around here for a half-hour or so then leave through the front; doesn't matter where you're goin'. You'll be contacted then, and you can work out the terms with them."

"Thank you, Junior. Been a pleasure doing business with you."

The bearded man shrugged, offering an idle reply. "Don't thank me till you get the papers in hand, kid." He advised, not wanting the kid's naivety to end up with him in the dead in the gutter somewhere. Junior wasn't the nicest guy around, but the kid had already paid him, and quite generously considering all he had to do was send a message via his scroll. Because of that, he figured the least he could do was make sure the kid didn't get his head in the clouds just yet. "This is business, snowball, not a favor. Keep it in mind."

A more subdued nod from the teen almost brought a smirk to the man's lips. "I'll keep that in mind. Half an hour and then out the front, right?"

"Yeah. And if you survive, feel free to drop by again." He cracked a rugged smile at the boy, picking up the glass and cloth again. "Could always use more regulars around this place." _If_ he survived, that is. Kid might not even get through the night, not with the level of forgery he needed.

Junior only knew one person who could make something good enough to go unnoticed at Beacon, and she was not the most... stable individual. Not that he would say it to her face, of course.

Crazy little she-demon.

* * *

Forty five minutes after his little heart-to-heart with the owner of The Club, Jaune found himself seated on a rooftop overlooking the streets nearby. His hands were propping up his head, elbows resting on his knees with his stick laid out across his lap and nestled into the crook of his elbows.

The frosty teen couldn't help but sigh in boredom as he awaited his contact, distracting himself idly by flicking a snowflake back and forth between his palms using his Semblance. Jaune couldn't help but find himself pondering about all of the odd changes he'd gone through after awakening his power.

His skin had paled, his hair faded to white, and his body temperature seemed to permanently drop. He was almost always cold to the touch, unless heated by an outside source, and he had gained a near immunity to low temperatures. None of the usual negatives associated with freezing applied to him even in sub-zero temperatures.

Perhaps certain extremes could get past his resistance, but standing on the bank of a frozen lake while dripping wet with water that was easily below zero had done nothing to him. He had actually been quite comfortable as a matter of fact. So Jaune wasn't really sure just how much would be too much for him.

Semblances were supposed to be unique, a manifestation of the soul or something. Jaune always figured that his just got messed up due to the rather hectic way it had been brought out; the bizarre effect it had left on his body seemed abnormal even from what he knew of Semblances.

... which wasn't much, he was forced to admit to himself after some consideration. Maybe people's Semblances really did do this kind of crap to them.

Jaune wasn't disappointed with his ability by any means, though. No, in all honesty it was absolutely badass. He could manipulate snow, ice, and wind on a level that was downright ridiculous. It was so easy to use, too, even a toddler could probably figure most of it out after a couple of days of experimenting. If he wanted something to happen, it did. Spawn ice all over this guy to hold him still? No problem. Ice slick on the floor to trip up a crowd? Done and done. Create a miniature blizzard to disorient and distract people while simultaneously growing spikes of ice out of the ground to serve as hazards? That took a bit of practice, but once it was down it was like riding a bike. It just worked.

So yeah, he had a damn good power. He'd trade a normal body temperature, his blonde hair, and his chances at getting a tan for that. Especially because he still hadn't learned the limits of this power, just the limits of his own ability for the moment. Jaune honestly didn't know where the possibilities ended for his Semblance.

But those thoughts were best saved for later. He had to keep his eye out for the contact that Junior had promised him, and being lost in thoughts about the incredible potential of his abilities was not a good way to make a first impression.

Damn was this boring, though. If Jaune had known the forge he was meeting was going to take so long he might have grabbed a drink while he was in the club, if only so he could toy around with the tiny umbrella.

Those things were awesome and no one would convince him otherwise. He didn't even have a good reason for why they were cool, but they were.

Speaking of umbrellas, he spotted one down below. It was sort of transparent, allowing him to see a bit of who was under the open umbrella. From what little he could glean through the patterned parasol, it was being held by a young looking girl with pink and brown hair, though he spotted a few streaks of white in the pink.

He only really noticed her at all because there wasn't really any reason to have an umbrella right now. The skies had been clear all week, and they weren't expecting rain.

"... Guess it's just a fashion statement." He mumbled to himself idly, turning away from the sight so as not to seem like a creep. He was already rather suspicious looking, just seated on the edge of a rooftop near The Club. Didn't need people to think he was a stalker or something. As a matter of fact, he could have sworn the girl beneath the umbrella had actually looked up at him.

Shrugging, the teen looked back down towards the street just in time to spot a projectile flying directly towards him. With only enough time to gasp, Jaune found himself launched backwards from his seated position by a hard impact to his chest plate.

A very harsh impact, as a matter of fact, because it had sent him flying across the rooftop in a tumble. Clumsily, having been completely thrown off guard by the sudden assault, Jaune managed to stabilize himself, landing in a crouch.

His chest plate now had a small ding in it, the teen noted with wide eyes as he glanced up towards the direction he had been struck from.

There, standing elegantly on the edge of the rooftop, was the same girl he had spotted in the street just moments before

Jaune's first thoughts upon getting a good look at her were quite simple; '... Wow she's tiny.' The boy couldn't help but notice that this girl was notably smaller than pretty much any other person he'd met who wasn't a child. She was short, petite, and all around made him think of a pretty little porcelain doll.

This was incredibly relevant, because he had always been terrified of those things. And considering this girl had chucked her umbrella of all things at him from street level hard enough to dent his armor, and then suddenly managed to get to the top of the building fast enough to catch it midair with a graceful twirl...

It was no exaggeration to say that Jaune Arc harbored a healthy fear for the deceivingly adorable girl who had just sent him flying as if on a whim.

And that smirk... it was extremely unnerving. It was one of those smiles that let everyone know the wearer of said expression knew something you didn't, something you desperately needed to know whether you realized it or not.

Standing slowly, as if to keep from startling a predator, Jaune raised his hands up defensively, staff held in a nonthreatening way but still at the ready. "Uhm, look, I'm sorry if I offended you but I was just waiting for someone, honest! I wasn't trying to creep on you!" Ugh, why had he decided to sit on the roof like some kind of wannabe lone wolf protagonist? Seriously, he should have known something like this would happen. It was just his luck.

The small girl merely offered a quirked brow, tilting her head in a rather adorable gesture that was entirely ruined by her mocking smile and the devilish glint in her eyes.

Jaune noticed at that point that the fancily dressed girl had two different eye colors, one pink and the other brown. Much like her hair, and her attire. She had a kind of... neapolitan look to her. Yeah, actually after looking her over he saw a definite color scheme there with the creamy white, the chocolate browns, and the splashes of pink throughout. It suited her, though, despite how over-the-top it seemed.

'What the hell am I thinking about at a time like this!?' The teenager berated himself mentally, immediately blaming the influence of his seven sisters on his life.

The girl continued to regard him with that same smirk, not moving an inch or replying to his earlier defenses beyond her original reaction.

Seeing this, Jaune began to feel even more uncomfortable. "... Er... right. Ah, well, uhm... I have an appointment I need to keep, so uh... I'm gonna go now?" Having said this, the boy began to back away from the discomforting presence of the tiny girl before him, unwilling to take his eyes off of her for even a second despite his retreat.

Something in the snowy teen's gut told him that if he so much as blinked, he would regret it. And Jaune Arc was very much a man who listened to his gut on such matters.

It was because of this that he saw the sudden shift in the girl's smile, as it became decidedly menacing and even more lopsided. Without losing even a trace of the dignified stance, the girl began to quickly step towards him with bad intentions clearly visible on her face.

Gulping, the white haired Arc decided he would fire a warning shot to perhaps ward off this sudden assailant, who he could tell at even a glance was leagues beyond the street toughs he had downed just hours before.

Swinging his staff of sorts towards the small girl, a small measure of confidence built up within Jaune as she was visibly surprised by the sudden wave of freezing air that pushed her backwards several feet.

Eyes widened at the display, the girl blinked curiously towards him.

A frown set on his lips, Jaune spoke up. "I don't know what you want with me, but I'm not just going to lay down and take it." He would have patted himself on the back for managing to contain his nervousness if it wouldn't have ruined the moment... hey hadn't her left eye been the pink one a second ago?

Strange, he could have sworn the left eye was the pink one, but now it was brown... wait no it was pink again. What? That was... weird. Really weird.

And suddenly she was moving again, far faster than before.

So much faster, in fact, that Jaune barely had time to get his guard up before being sent hurtling yet again by the little girl, this time using her leg. She had landed a hard kick which sent him tumbling yet again, though this time he used his Semblance to assist in his landing.

Catching himself on two footholds of ice, the boy hissed and resisted the urge to rub his stomach. Good grief, even with Aura that was a stinger. It wouldn't leave permanent damage or anything, but if he hadn't had his Aura awakened...

Jaune gulped again, confidence wavering as he realized that a kick like that could have killed a normal human. What the heck was this girl's problem? What had he done to set her off? He had no clue!

But now wasn't the time for that. He had to do something, maybe trap her long enough to make a break for it. In an area like this, he could escape fairly easily if he pushed his athletic abilities to the limit in conjunction with his Semblance. He just needed to hold her still long enough for an opening.

Strategy firmly in mind, Jaune's face set into a determined glare as he stared down the girl who had just sent him flying with next to no effort.

She was still smirking that same damnable smirk, seemingly even more amused now as she offered a dainty little greeting, wiggling her fingers at him. As if they had just introduced themselves rather than her introducing her foot to his stomach.

Jaune was not amused, but he kept it to himself. Letting his power circulate through him a bit, the teen released a deep breath that left moisture in the air freezing into tiny crystals of ice. Unwilling to avert his gaze from the dangerous enemy he had encountered, the boy wisely decided against attempting to catch her with a widespread attack. She would just dodge it, and then he would have lost sight of her. Radiating an attack in a three hundred and sixty degree circle without his usual spin would take too long to be practical, and performing the small spin would make him lose sight of the girl. It wasn't worth it for an attack he was certain she would dodge.

With that in mind, he relegated his attack to a wide cone as opposed to the full circle he often used. Eyes flashing a pale blue briefly, Jaune released a second, stronger blast of frigid air from his hands, accompanied by several sharp icicles of varying size.

He didn't expect it to land, but the teen wanted an idea of how his foe would respond to such an attack.

Jaune very nearly shouted in frustration as the girl simply drew her now open umbrella before her, allowing the ice to just shatter upon it. Was she for real? Did she really just block that with a freaking parasol?

The answer to that question was an irrefutable yes, he was forced to admit as the girl seemed to giggle silently, twirling her undamaged weapon about playfully.

That was not good, not at all. With that in mind, he decided to see how she reacted to a more cumbersome terrain to navigate. And so, before she could move to attack him again, Jaune willed his power onto the rooftop, creating a solid sheet of ice beneath his feet that spread quickly, soon covering the entire rooftop. Against normal people, this would make fighting nearly impossible. The ice was slick and solid, making it very difficult to move at any speed, let alone fight.

For an experienced fighter, it would be less crippling but still a hindrance. You had to be careful on a slick like this, or you might make a fatal mistake at any moment.

Jaune himself was one hundred percent unaffected. His Semblance made traversing icy terrain a breeze, it felt almost more natural than just walking on grass or asphalt. He could control himself perfectly despite the slippery footing, and moreover he had managed to find ways to use his abilities to increase his speed on ice.

Another brief moment of surprise from the pretty girl who was trying to kill him, before it was replaced by that same curiously quirking brow and infuriatingly smug smirk.

He had expected some sort of hindrance to the girl from the ice. Surely she would at least be somewhat slowed down by it, right?

Nope. Not even.

She moved like she didn't even notice the ice, that same graceful gait that she'd been using the entire time.

Jaune had to move, and so he did. Propelling himself with a blast of frigid air from his heel, he sped across the icy terrain like a skater, his weaponized stick ready to be swung the moment he spotted even a smidgen of pink.

Catching movement from the corner of his eye, Jaune turned and used his built-up momentum for a very powerful swing. Much like her earlier kick, Jaune was certain this strike would kill a normal human being upon hitting; he had put an immense amount of force into it, and so it would at least stun the girl for a moment.

... if he had hit her. But he hadn't. Instead, something seemed to shatter, leaving him staring dumbly at the place where he could have sworn the girl had been just moments before. Where had she gone?

A presence on his back and hot breath at his ear answered that question as he felt cold metal at his neck. Jaune fought back a terrified gasp, forcing himself to remain calm even as the blade at his neck became more apparent. It was hovering above his flesh by mere inches after having been lightly drawn against him, not enough to leave a cut but more than enough to make it clear that he was in checkmate.

Legs wrapped around his waist, one arm thrown over his shoulder to hold on, and another holding her umbrella-blade to his neck.

Jaune wasn't going to lie; this would probably be really hot if it wasn't for the fact that he was facing death if he didn't do something.

Considering he was pretty much dead anyway if he didn't pull something out of his ass, the snowy haired teen decided to just throw caution to the wind and attempt a calculated risk.

Ice formed at his neck, creating a sudden layer of thickness between the sword and it's target; she had been hovering the blade above his skin teasingly, and it had given him room to try something.

She noticed the formation immediately, and moved to strike a more sensitive area... but, unexpectedly found herself pressed between the larger back of the teen and a doorway to the stairs of the building. Harshly, as a matter of fact.

Jaune had propelled himself backwards as fast and hard as he could via his Semblance, a burst of frigid wind in conjunction with his own leg strength.

Slamming the girl against the wall stunned her; landing his first strike during the entire battle, and it was only out of a desperation move.

He wasn't going to think on that though. The impact had moved her blade away from him, enough that he was able to push off of her, turning just in time to harshly press his hand up against the girl's stomach.

Ice began spreading quickly, forming restraints that he was certain wouldn't last long. But Jaune didn't need them to. He just needed to run away, far away and as fast as he could.

And so he did. Without sparing the lunatic ice cream girl another look, Jaune began to sprint away as fast as his legs would carry him.

He leaped from the building, making use of his limited control of wind to add some thrust to his jump and allowing him to clear the gap from one building to the next with ease. But one building wasn't enough, and so he continued running, jumping, sliding, and leaving behind bursts of cold in his wake as he did so.

Probably not going to cause anyone any problems.

And if it did? Too bad. His survival was a little more important.

With that thought in mind, Jaune found himself shivering as he leaned up against the wall of an alleyway several blocks away. Not from cold, he hadn't been uncomfortable due to freezing temperatures in ages, but from fear.

He had nearly died.

That girl, some random passerby he didn't even know, had just tried to murder him out of the blue. And she had very nearly succeeded.

Sliding down the wall with a shaky, ragged sigh, the teen settled his elbows on his knees, stave resting horizontally in his lap, and covered his face with his hands, trying to get a grip on himself.

After a few moments, the shivering ceased. He calmed down enough that the shaking was done, but his breathing was still heavy as he sat against the wall, allowing the adrenaline which had carried him this far to fade.

It was replaced by an all-consuming exhaustion. The boy slumped further in on himself, releasing another shaky breath. "... Who... was that girl?" He asked to himself, almost as if to test and see if his voice still worked. "God, she wiped the floor with me... she nearly _killed_ me..." He laughed despondently, shaking his head. "I couldn't even touch her..." Some hero he was if he couldn't so much as lay a hand on his opponents. The one good hit he'd gotten in the entire fight was because she had decided to play with him at the end.

A shiver shot down his spine suddenly as someone tapped him atop the head. Jaune didn't want to look up. He was terrified at what he might see, what he knew he would see.

But he had to. He couldn't just pretend she wasn't there. He wasn't just going to turtle up and hope she went away, no matter how much he wished he could.

Removing his hands from his face, the teen suppressed the terrified squeak that wanted to slip past his lips as his blue eyes met mismatched pink and brown.

The girl was less than a foot from him, bent over at the waist with her hands clasped behind her back. Their faces were inches apart, and again he couldn't help but think that this girl would be incredibly attractive if he wasn't so damn scared of her right now. Even that infuriatingly smug smile of hers had an alluring charm about it, but he was too focused on the fact that this girl had managed to not only escape his ice-prison, but had also found or followed him after he had literally sprinted halfway across the city in a Semblance aided marathon that had left him completely drained to care about that.

A deep sigh slipped past his lips as he looked at the girl, attempting to hide his fear with humor. "Well... mom always said when I was older I would have pretty girls chasing me all over." In response to the quirked brow from the girl, he shook his head with a dry laugh. "Don't think this is what she meant, though."

He fought back a flinch as an item was thrust into his face.

It was... a scroll? With a message typed out on it.

 _Cute. You're the one who wanted a forge, right?_

Jaune blinked. "... Yeah." He replied uncomfortably, not liking how this girl knew about that. It had some pretty unsettling implications.

The scroll was pulled back, the girl easily typing out a message with a single hand. _Good. I was pretty sure it was you, but I could have just attacked a random Huntsman on accident._

"Uh... huh." Jaune mumbled, trying futilely to scoot away from the murderous psychopath in front of him. The wall at his back made short work of that plan. "What... did you want with me?"

 _You're the one who wanted me, silly._ The girl typed out with a silent giggle, covering her mouth with one dainty little hand. _A forge good enough to fool the Headmaster of Beacon Academy, right?_

Jaune froze. "... Oh." No, no way. The crazy midget with the sword umbrella that had kicked his ass seven ways to Sunday was the forge Junior sent to him? "Oh, fuck me." He announced bitterly, shaking his head as he looked warily towards the smirking girl.

Giving the boy a once-over, the ice-cream themed girl licked her lips suggestively. _Maybe later._ She typed out, making certain he saw the message and smiling wider at his stammered response. _For now, let's talk business shall we?_

"Okay." The teen relented, knowing that any sort of resistance was futile at this point. He was completely incapable of fighting back right now, and even if he was running on a full tank it had already been proven that this girl was more than a match for him on his best day. "So... do I have a name to call you or..?"

 _Neopolitan. But please, feel free to call me Neo. Short and sweet._

Were the situation any different, Jaune may have attempted a cheesy and poorly thought out compliment in an attempt to flirt. However, considering the fact that Neo had kicked him around without any sort of noticeable effort on her part he didn't much feel like using the tried and true "Just like you?" response that would probably have gotten him slapped... or stabbed.

Instead, he just nodded slowly. "Okay... Neo. What was that about? You attacked me out of the blue."

 _If I'm making fake transcripts for you, I need to know that you can live up to them._ The girl shrugged at his belligerent glare, clearly anticipating his next question as she typed out more. _And while I -could- have just introduced myself, informed you of what I needed, and then conducted the test in a controlled environment..._ She let that sentence drift off, seeing the realization and irritation light up in her client's eyes.

"... you thought it would be more fun this way." He finished for her, shaking his head at the absurdity of it but realizing there was absolutely nothing he could do in response. "Okay. Fine. How much will this cost me?"

 _Normally, it would be a lot. A whole lot. More than you could afford, I assure you._ A shrug at his rather annoyed twitch. _But since you amused me so much, I'm feeling rather generous._ Holding up the wallet she had just pilfered from the teen without his notice, Neo's smile was so sweet it was sickening. _I'll leave enough for you to survive on for a week, but the rest will be payment for the job. In addition, you're going to owe me a favor at a later date._

Despite the fact that the girl had swiped his wallet without him being able to react, on top of her terrorizing him in battle and utterly defeating him... Jaune wasn't just going to agree to those terms. Not the last one, anyway. "Neo." He began firmly, drawing a raised brow from the girl at the rather different tone than he'd been using. "I'll agree to that last term as long as you swear to me that it's not going to be something that will compromise my morals. I'm sure you'll know how far is too far." He really didn't have any room to be negotiating even as much as he was, but he would rather die than be forced to do something he would regret the rest of his life.

Neo's expression made it clear that she found this amusing. _You really do not have any room to be making terms right now, you know._ She typed, showing him the message and frowning slightly at his unchanged expression. Sighing, she shrugged before typing up another response. _Fine. I'm not going to make you do something like that... I'd be better served doing it myself in case you hadn't noticed._

Jaune blinked. "Uh... yeah, you have a point." He conceded with a frown, remembering in great detail just how thoroughly this girl had thrashed him just minutes before. Flinching as she lightly patted his cheek in a condescending fashion, the teen released a light growl in irritation but made no moves otherwise. "So now what?" The snowy teen asked, reigning in his annoyance.

 _I'm going to take my payment, get you those transcripts forged, and then meet you at The Club in a week._ Neo's reply came quickly, clearly the girl had a large amount of experience typing messages on her scroll with a single hand. Her other hand was still resting on his cheek in a gesture that, again, would have been alluring if not for the fact that the person she was interacting with was terrified of her. _You just show up and accept the documents once they're done... ah, by the way, hand me your scroll for a minute._

Slowly, as though quick movements would startle the predator before him, Jaune fished his own scroll from his pocket and held it out to the girl. Said girl swiped it, quickly navigating the menus of the device and typing something on it.

When she handed it back to him, Jaune was left looking at a new addition to his contacts. He blinked, looking back to the girl. "Uh... you put your number into my contacts list?" He asked the obvious question. Wasn't that kind of a strange thing to do?

 _I also put your number on mine._ Neo typed back in response. _What, do you think I need to be cautious about who gets my contact information?_ She giggled silently again, though this time there was something malicious about it. _I can assure you that anyone who misuses that information finds themselves unable to do so ever again._

Jaune got the point quite clearly, thanks. "Uh, right. I'll keep that in mind." He responded slowly, trying to keep the fear out of his voice. "S-so... are we done here?" Because as much as he was grateful to have worked out a deal for his forged transcripts, the woman doing the forging scared him senseless.

Tilting her head, as if in thought, Neo responded with a cheery little nod and a smile that was far too innocent for the face it was inhabiting. _Yep, for now. Be sure to show up to The Club a week from today for the hand-off. I'll send you a message if anything changes between now and then, k?_

"Yeah... will do. And... uh... thanks?" He wasn't sure how business deals went in the criminal underworld, but having been raised to be a polite young man he felt inclined to show gratitude whenever someone did something for him. That went for friendly favors, waiters at a restaurant, store clerks offering advice, and apparently now criminals he worked out shady deals with.

 _You're welcome._ Neo replied, straightening from her previous position for the first time since their conversation had began. She tossed the wallet, much lighter than it had been previously, towards the teen who caught it clumsily. _I'll see you in a week, Jaune Arc._

And with that final message, the girl lightly hopped backwards and was suddenly no longer there.

Jaune blinked again. "... what the hell?" She could teleport? That was horrifying. What the hell kind of bullshit was that? Was that her Semblance?

That was just plain messed up. No wonder he couldn't escape from her if she could do that.

And with the deal worked out, his life no longer in danger, and the new number in his scroll that signified his association with the criminal world... Jaune couldn't have possibly felt more tired.

Staring at the wall across from him, the boy released an exhausted sigh and ran his hands through his hair, before asking himself a single question aloud.

"What have I gotten myself into?"

* * *

My thoughts exactly, Jaune... what have _I_ gotten myself into?

Anyway. There you have it, Jaune Arc with ice powers and more confidence in himself. Let's see how this turns out...


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter two is here. I forgot to tag Jaune as a character in the summary, so that was funny. It's fixed now.

I don't own RWBY or anything else of any relevance, in case you're wondering.

* * *

"Man..." Jaune sighed lamely, holding his head in his hands as he sat in a booth on the outer area of The Club, far from the dance floor. Usually, he had absolutely no problem busting out into dance and just loosing track of time in the music... but tonight, he was still a bit too down for that.

That girl, Neo, had utterly ruined him in a straight fight. And it left him wondering; where did he stand in this world? He had thought himself pretty strong, enough that your average goon or street tough was literally nothing in comparison.

But Neo, she had made _him_ look like some sort of punk on the streets being put into his place. The amount of effort she displayed fighting him was close to nothing, whereas he had put forth all of his effort from the very beginning.

Did that make him a weakling? Jaune just didn't know. She was his first real fight, in a sense. He had knocked around thugs and goons up until now without issue, and his abilities seemed, to him, up to par... but against her, they just weren't. Would he even be able to hurt Grimm with his powers? Or would they just shrug it off?

He had no idea if he was up to snuff, and that positively killed him.

Was he not strong enough to attend Beacon at all, then? The teen sighed again at that thought. "I am such a mess..." He lamented dully to himself.

"Agreed." A female voice responded to his pity-party. "You look pretty pathetic right now."

This made Jaune look up, quirking an eyebrow at the rather unexpected interruption to his moping. "Uh... thanks, I guess?" He really hoped this didn't end up like his last encounter with a random girl. Giving her a once-over, the snowy-haired teen couldn't help but feel she was certainly attractive enough to be a parallel to his previous incident.

The girl was taller than Neo, but that wasn't saying much. She had long black hair that was obviously well cared for, with a single white flower hairpin above her left ear, green eyes that were alight with a brightness that he didn't see every day, made more apparent by the cyan eyeliner she wore. Really, those eyes looked like they could see straight through him and it was both alluring and intimidating at the same time.

She wore a very flattering strapless white dress, which was rather short. It stopped just a few inches before her thigh-high boots began, which left enough of her skin visible to draw attention without being too revealing. At the chest there was a simple white bow, and around her neck she had a feathered scarf that was a silvery white. The dress was lined in cyan, and at her waist she had a silver chained belt.

The thigh high boots were white with red laces running up the front, and following those long, lovely legs down to the feet revealed a pair of heels with blades on them.

Noticing those drew attention to the fact that the girl had a silver shoulderplate on her left shoulder, with red and cyan feathers decorating it, as well as the plated brace on her left arm.

So she was not only an attractive girl approaching him out of the blue, but she was also obviously a capable fighter because no one else would be using such an obscure set of weapons. The way she carried herself was also rather self-assured, as though she was clearly able to handle herself.

Seeing all of these things, Jaune sighed. "You're not here to kick my ass too, right? Cuz' the last pretty lady that walked up to me did exactly that, with a smile on her face I might add."

This drew an amused snicker from the girl as she slipped into the seat across from him, waving her hands disarmingly with a charming smile. "No, no, I'm not here to attack you. The crazy little ice-cream girl probably did enough of that for three people, right?"

Jaune shivered at the memory. "She nearly killed me." He admitted with a nervous chuckle, shaking his head. "So if you're not here to attack me, what can I help you with?" The boy asked warily, not entirely sure if he was comfortable with the situation.

"I just wanted to talk, really." The girl shrugged at him. "Name's Melanie, Melanie Malachite." She offered her hand in greeting.

Seemingly debating in his head whether or not it was a good idea, the teen across from her eventually caved and replied in kind. "Jaune Arc. Short, sweet, ladies love it." He introduced himself with a chuckle at the reaction.

"Do they now?" She asked back as they shook hands.

Jaune replied much like she had previously; a shrug. "Meh. If they don't now they will one of these days." He intended to become a famous hunter later on down the line, and in a lot of circles hunters were treated like celebrities. If he ended up at that point, his tried and true introduction would be right on the money he was sure.

But for now it was more of an icebreaking joke. Worked pretty well at times.

Less well at others.

But for this particular meeting, it seemed to go over well enough. Melanie only giggled a bit at his reply, shaking her head. "So..." She began, those piercing green eyes of hers darting around for a moment to make certain no one was close enough to overhear. "You're the one Junior was talking about last night, then. The "snowball" kid who he sicced Neopolitan on?"

"I wouldn't say he "sicced" her on me." Jaune deadpanned. "Unless he had a different contact that could get what I needed and he sent her instead... in which case I would need to have words with him." If he had seriously decided to send the tiny psycho at him when there were more options, Jaune was gonna be pissed.

Melanie chuckled. "No, no, she's pretty much the only one capable of what you were asking. Beacon Academy, huh?" She asked whimsically.

Nodding lightly, Jaune replied. "Yeah, I... well, I wanna do something with my life. And Beacon is supposed to be the best of the best... so that kind of education would be great." He wasn't particularly concerned that she knew about that. It just meant that this girl was some part of Junior's group, as evidenced by her mentioning the big man earlier. Chances are everyone in the higher circle around here knew of that deal.

"But you didn't do enough early on in your life to set up for what came later, right?" Melanie chuckled at the look this got her in response. "My sister and I were in a similar boat, you could say. Had talent, but no real training for the most part. We considered trying to get into Beacon, since it was so close by and we didn't know what else to do with ourselves... but, the whole bit about potentially dying a horrible death to Grimm for the sake of the people didn't appeal to us." She shrugged. "So we ended up here."

Jaune nodded again, understanding where she was coming from. "Yeah. Sometimes I think about fighting the Grimm and freeze up a little, just because I can imagine a thousand scenarios where I die in battle." As many heroic fantasies as he had about saving beautiful girls, fighting strong foes only to come out on top, and becoming recognized as a real huntsman, he had imagined even more nightmares where he failed.

The beautiful girls killed before he could swoop in to save the day, himself being killed without saving them. The strong foes being just a bit stronger, faster, better than him... or outright dominating him from the start. The possibility of being found out as someone who cheated the system to get in, who's entire career had been based on a lie... or someone who's career had never began because his lie had been caught too early.

Yes, Jaune had given ample thought to each of these things.

"So... why do it, then?" Melanie asked curiously, leaning forward to look him right in the eyes as she asked her question. "What are you gaining out of this?"

And at that question, Jaune couldn't help but smile. "The knowledge that I'm going to live my childhood dream or die trying, and whatever life experiences I get along the way." He answered with chuckle at the surprised look this drew from the girl. "Yeah, I'm just some idealistic fool who wants to live life my way or no way at all." The boy continued, shaking his head. "But in the end, it's just what I want to do, you know?"

"That's an interesting way to look at it." Melanie admitted, amused by the simplicity of it all. "My sister and I ended up doing this because it seemed like the more rewarding choice; we get paid, we get a safer job, and we still get to kick some ass every once in a while... but you'd be bored to death in this line of work, I imagine."

"Security, I guess?" Jaune pondered, which was confirmed by the girl's nod. "I don't think that there's anything wrong with that, not really." He shrugged. "I may be the wannabe hero type, but not everyone is. I totally get that some people wanna put themselves first; heck, that's basically what I'm doing but in a different way."

"Really now?" That actually got her a bit curious. His entire spiel up to this point had been about wanting to be a hero, protect the people, yadda yadda. Hence the "wannabe hero" line. So how did he think that was putting himself first? "Mind explaining that a bit, snowball?"

Uncaring of the nickname, as he had been called far worse things, Jaune explained. "Well, I'm doing what I want to do. Sure, what I want will help people down the line; I may save dozens, maybe hundreds of people. Maybe more." He shrugged. "But, the thing is... it's all for my own satisfaction in the end." With that admission, he explained a bit more. "I've dreamed of being a hero since I was little, and I'll do just about anything to achieve that goal... even if it means doing something illegal and immoral to get there... within reason, of course. I wouldn't be much of a hero if I didn't stick to my own morals." He was willing to bend or break rules to get where he wanted to be, but there would always be lines he wouldn't cross.

Melanie couldn't help but laugh at the explanation she'd been given. "Wow, that was actually really deep and almost wise. Not what I expected out of this conversation, for sure." She had literally come over here for a five minute distraction, a quick meet and greet that she would forget by the end of the night.

Instead, she got this. "I need to introduce you to Miltia one of these days; she would love you." Her sister was what she called "one of the quiet ones", a less talkative girl who would rather read a book than hold a conversation. She was deadly serious on the job, though Melanie was certain to keep her loosened up as much as possible just to keep her from being insufferable, and as much of a "good girl" as their occupation allowed.

"I'd be fine with that." Jaune admitted casually. "Seriously, the number of people I can call friend is like..." He briefly stopped, tilting his head as he actually thought about it. "Uh... wow. Outside of my family I really do not know like anyone on a friendly basis." Aside from various people he had worked for in order to keep himself afloat away from home and to save up for his eventual purchase of faked transcripts, Jaune didn't interact with anyone. "The number of people I'm on a first name basis with can be counted on one hand." With fingers left over, even if he were including Melanie's addition.

Junior was a nickname that just about everyone on the streets knew; he had no idea what the man's real name was. Neopolitan was a business contact at this point, and frankly she was not someone he considered himself on good terms with. She had tried to kill him for crying out loud. He could probably forgive for that down the line, but the fact that she had tried it in the first place said some things about _her_ as a person.

And the scattered acquaintances he had made were mostly forgotten names and faces in a crowd; he probably wouldn't recognize anyone even if he saw them out and about Vale.

Holy shit that was actually pathetic.

"I know that look." Melanie chimed in, amused. "That's the look of a man who just realized something obvious about themselves."

Jaune blinked, drawn from his musings. "Uh... you're not wrong." Seriously, she wasn't. How had he not noticed that earlier? Seriously. "I can't believe I never really noticed that I hadn't made any friends." Had he been that engrossed in earning money and training his Semblance? How else could he have gone so long without even a single real friend popping up in a year?

He'd been sort of a shut-in in his earlier years, so that made sense, but after heading out on his own he interacted with people constantly.

Melanie shrugged. "I've basically only got my sister." She admitted. "The goons are pretty much nameless muscle to us, and the only thing they really see us as is eye-candy if I'm to believe what I've heard. Junior is just our boss, but he's an okay guy I guess. So if we count Junior that's like two people." The girl chuckled. "Hard to believe you find yourself in such a small bubble in such a large world, right?"

Jaune shared a small laugh with the girl. "Well, hey. My mom always said that strangers were just friends you haven't met yet." Or in some cases enemies you haven't met yet, as he had later amended the statement. Not everyone was good friend material.

Releasing a rather unladylike snort in response, Melanie shook her head. "Not in this business, I'd say." Stranger meant unknown, and unknown meant caution. "But hey. What even brought you here tonight anyway? It's the night after and I doubt that the tiny devil can make something up to your standards in a single night."

"I've got a room for a week in what is most likely the cheapest and most run-down hotel in all of Vale." Jaune replied lightly, waving his hand at the surrounding area. "I'm fairly certain that I heard someone getting mugged just this morning as I was groggily getting out of bed, and by the time I looked to see what was happening the place street was deserted." Offering no more than a deadpan stare and a shrug, he finished his point. "I'm trying to stay as far away as possible until I need to sleep."

Melanie blinked. "Ah. The place like three blocks away from here?" She asked.

Nodding once, Jaune confirmed it. "Yep. That's the place."

"Yeah that probably was someone getting mugged." She noted idly. "Over here is okay, since people know to behave on Junior's turf, but once you cross the line it really is the slums."

"Good to know." He replied truthfully, having little idea how this whole criminal underworld thing worked. "So are the police just a non-factor or what?"

Melanie actually stopped to think on that one. "I've seen cops around before, yes, but they've never really _stopped_ any of the crimes taking place. They might have prevented a few just because they were around, though." The girl admitted.

In that part of town, more often than not the only law was "might is right" and people settled their problems in ways that ended up with people either dead or close to it. "It's a good thing people try not to piss off Junior, now that I think about it." She said after thinking about all the things she'd seen or heard of going on in the darker part of the city. "This is probably the safest place in the immediate area just because he's got his finger in so many pies."

No one wanted the big man on their asses. Even if they were stronger than him, he could ruin just about every big-shot in the city with all the information he had managed to gather.

"Huh. Good to know. I'll try and stay on his good side." Junior would be able to get his false transcripts revealed without incriminating himself at all, Jaune was sure. It was a good idea to try and keep relations with him friendly considering that. "So. You just came over here because you were bored?" He asked.

"Yeah, basically." The girl admitted shamelessly. "Until I hear someone start screaming there really isn't much for me to do, you know. The regular stuff gets handled by the goons." Stuff like some guy groping one of the dancing girls, drunken brawls between patrons, and so on. Her and Miltiades pretty much just dealt with anyone who could actually beat the dumb muscle. Though Miltia in particular liked to watch the bar like a hawk in case someone decided date-rape was a good idea.

She remembered the last poor sap who tried to slip something into his date's drink. Melanie was honestly quite certain he couldn't have kids anymore.

Good times.

"Huh." Jaune mumbled to himself. "It's kind of new for _me_ to be the one approached by cute girls." He joked lightly.

A fine brow raised in curiosity. "Seriously? You're not that bad looking." He was kind of scraggly looking, but not ugly by any means. Those blue eyes of his were quite charming, and mixed with the pale skin and white hair he had a fairly exotic look to him. And if he was half as entertaining to talk to as she thought he was, then at least a few girls he'd met had to have some interest.

"I'll take that compliment, but the last time in recent memory a girl has approached me was when Neo threw her umbrella at me hard enough to dent my chestplate." Seeing her glance to said accessory, he explained the lack of dent. "I managed to bump it back with a rubber hammer." The gaze now shifted to him, and it was a questioning look. "I had a rubber hammer because I kind of expected someone to dent my armor down the line and thought it was a good investment."

Huh. That was actually pretty smart, Melanie had to admit. Wouldn't really work for her own armor since it was layered, and really she didn't even have much of the stuff to begin with. The shoulder piece was more of a fashion statement, but the armband gave her a last resort to block with. "Point taken. Your luck with ladies sucks." She jibed lightly.

Jaune's response was a shrug. "Unless you count tonight as my luck changing." He countered with a goofy grin.

Rolling her eyes, Melanie was more amused than anything by the playful flirting. "Well, it's gone from "Neopolitan" bad luck to "just not interested", which is a solid improvement." She chuckled at the fake crestfallen expression this got from the boy, who had placed his hands over his heart as if he'd been stabbed.

"Your words. They cut deep." The teen joked again, swaying in his seat to mimic being dizzy from bloodloss.

Snickering, the black haired girl had a devious thought that would probably be entertaining. "But, you know, I think my sister may warm up to you." She smirked at the raised brow this earned her, continuing. "She's quiet, bookish, and a tiny bit shy. That sunny personality of yours just may suit her."

It was Jaune's turn to roll his eyes. "I'm sure you thought it was funny, trying to get my hopes up for an eventual crash and awkward introduction, but I'm not falling for that." He could _see_ the mischief in her eyes! After living with seven sisters for his entire life, it would be nearly impossible not to pick up that particular talent.

He'd figured it out around the third time that his sisters told him girls liked a boy who would wear a dress for them.

"What?" Melanie feigned offense at the accusation. "I would never do such a thing." It was quite clear that she was lying through her teeth.

"Sure you wouldn't." Jaune rolled his eyes with a small smile. "How could I ever have accused you of such a thing?"

The two shared a chuckle. "Y'know, you're a pretty interesting guy snowball." Melanie admitted with a small smile. "You plan on stopping by more often?"

Jaune thought on that briefly. "Well, I don't have anything else I need to do and staying locked inside of my hotel room is nowhere near interesting... so probably, yeah." The room was tiny. It was literally a bed and a dresser with one rickety table shoved off to the side for dining. Not the most entertaining surroundings. "Why? _You_ wouldn't happen to be warming up to me would you?"

Melanie giggled behind her hand for a moment, before gracefully sliding to her feet. "Maybe so." She replied with a flirtatious wink. "Keep visiting and you might find out~" This last sentence was delivered in a sing-song tone.

Seeing the girl begin to walk off, offering him one last wave, Jaune couldn't help but eye her legs as she left. Goodness was she pretty, and fun too. And best of all, he didn't end up having to find out how sharp those heels were, or whether or not she could cave in his skull with her kicks! And he actually held a conversation with an attractive girl without making an ass of himself!

Jaune Arc leaned back into the soft cushions of the booth with a satisfied air about him, unable to keep a small smile from his lips.

"Maybe things are looking up after all."

* * *

"Okay... so run this by me again, Neo." An orange haired man in a dapper white suit jacket asked, running one hand over the eye that as not covered by his hair. "You decided to take a job to make fake transcripts for some snot-nosed kid to get into Beacon Academy, and you took peanuts for pay. Why?" This man was the infamous criminal known as Roman Torchwick, a smartly dressed fellow with a black bowler cap on his head and long black pants in addition to his white jacket and grey scarf.

At first glance, one could clearly see that Roman was a man of expensive tastes. In his other hand, the one not covering his face, was an elegant cane colored in grays and reds, with a noticeable design at the base.

Neo, who was currently seated on a plush couch in one of the duo's many safe houses throughout Vale, responded with a roll of her eyes. ' _Cinder has -you- stealing things, not me. I get bored sometimes, Roman.'_ A lot of times as a matter of fact. Cinder wanted her to keep out of the public eye, something about making the best of her abilities when the time came. Neo didn't particularly care about that, but they had to tread carefully around Cinder. ' _And moreover, this can be our out in case things go south.'_

Having removed his palm from his face at the first sign of typing, the man inspected her replies with a critical eye. "... okay that first part is just like you, and what was this about an out?" Their services had been enlisted by their current employer through... less than cordial means. Roman had no illusions about taking on Cinder, let alone her in addition to Marcus Black's kid and the pickpocket girl.

As such, seeing his adorable little psychopath of a companion presenting a potential out should they come too close to the fire... that was something that he could get behind. "Be a dear and explain a bit further, Neo?" Roman prodded gently, leaning forward with a small smirk.

Returning his smirk with one of her own, that same infuriatingly smug one that she almost always wore, Neopolitan typed up her reply. ' _The kid didn't have much experience, or lien for that matter. If he hadn't been so much fun to play with I may not have considered this option.'_ Seeing her partner in crime eagerly awaiting her to reach the point, she relented and explained. ' _Long story short; the kid isn't awful. He's actually pretty decent. A little work and he might be something worthwhile. Which means he should be able to survive in Beacon, which is going to be one of the largest places of interest for Cinder once her plans get off the ground.'_ Considering what Cinder wanted to do, or what they did know of it, Beacon was going to be intrinsic to it in some way.

Roman nodded idly, thinking on that himself. "Alright. So the kid isn't awful in a fight, and you think he'll make the cut at Beacon. I'm guessing you wrestled a favor out of him?" Seeing the pleased nod this drew, he allowed himself a few moments to muse silently before speaking again. "I think I know where you're going with this. Get the kid into Beacon and then if Cindy slips up we can just rat her out through him, yeah?"

Neopolitan nodded proudly. ' _Yep. If it seems like sticking with our current employer is a bad idea, we can just wait for the right moment to snitch and let Ozpin's group take things from there.'_ Cinder and her pets were strong, of course... but that wouldn't mean anything if they were put up against multiple people that even Cinder was wary of facing one to one. ' _Of course, currently our business is still profitable.'_ The girl admitted with a shrug. ' _If we don't need an out, we won't use it. The kid is still interesting either way so it's no real issue for me, I'd probably have done this anyway for fun. But if we end up needing to break ties with Cinder cleanly, this is certainly one way to do it.'_ As little as she was really making profit-wise from this venture, she fully intended to milk this situation for as much amusement as possible.

Roman nodded, mulling the plan over in his own head. "It's not a bad idea, I'm forced to admit." He chuckled, twirling his cane around in his hand for a few moments before setting it before him and leaning his body weight on it. "No, in reality I rather like this plan; it's very simple and versatile. Something of a "fire and forget" strategy." The kid was just going to attend Beacon normally until such a time where he was needed. A time that may not even come, but one that they would be fools not to plan for. He had actually just been pondering this not a few days ago, but previously Roman had been drawing blanks on what to do.

They couldn't go to the authorities themselves; not only would it put them at risk of capture, but the fact of the matter was that they would probably not be believed. Roman was not exactly the most trustworthy individual, and Neo was a sociopath who worked with him so she was out too. Anonymous tips only went so far.

But if they used someone else as a proxy, such as this kid, it presented a few possibilities. For one, he was obviously more trustworthy. A student at Beacon Academy training to become a Huntsman to protect the people from the horrors of the Grimm? That sounded like a rather upstanding individual right there. And from what he'd managed to glean thus far, the kid was also an Arc. That would also be quite the boon to his credibility, seeing as how the Arcs were a moderately well known family.

Best of all, if they failed to get Cinder killed or imprisoned with this, it would be quite hard for her to pin it on them in the first place. They could set up any number of perfect scenarios for the kid to stumble upon information, which would set any blame firmly on _his_ shoulders as opposed to theirs. It would just require them to play their cards right. He would be their way out and, if that failed, the scapegoat.

So yes, Roman Torchwick would admit that his crazy little ice-cream themed companion had provided them quite a winner of an opportunity. And as such, he would be remiss not to show his gratitude. Luckily, he knew just how to thank his partner in crime for a job well done.

"Ice cream is in the freezer, Neo. Help yourself." The way her face lit up would have been absolutely heartwarming if not for the fact that he knew her so well.

Neopolitan was a lot of things; adorable, playful, and intelligent among them.

However, she was also conniving, menacing, dangerous, vicious, and quite probably insane.

So the wide, innocent smile that she flashed him before literally disappearing into the kitchen of the safehouse was cute; he could even call it charming.

But that girl was pure evil in a pretty little package.

That was probably why he liked her so much.

With that in mind, the master thief and criminal extraordinaire settled back into his own recliner as his accomplice began to devour the several tubs of neapolitan ice cream he had purchased a few days prior, intending to use them as a bribe or something similar as he had been for the past several months when Neo couldn't stave off her boredom and pestered him too much. In this case, he'd just decided to let her have them because she had solved an issue that had been plaguing him since he had entered this business venture with the lovely miss Cinder Fall.

That being, of course, how to betray her should the need arise. Because Roman was a man who liked options, and Cinder did not provide any other than following her or suffering the consequences.

He was a tough fighter himself, and Neo was an absolute menace in battle. So between the two of them, they were some of the top contenders for "most dangerous thing in Vale" up until Cinder Fall and her pair of misfit children appeared.

He would bet his entire amassed fortune that he and Neo would be enough to handle Emerald and Mercury on their own, perhaps with the support of a few hired goons to wear them down for safety purposes and to allow Neo to harass them more effectively. Also to keep the thief-girl from abusing her Semblance too much to throw the two of them off, since she seemed to have issues with more than two people at a time.

But throwing Cinder and her ridiculous powers into the mix? Not gonna happen. An army of mooks would be wiped out in an instant, and Roman wasn't even certain he and Neopolitan could take on their employer without considering her pets. She was a mystery; he knew of a fair amount of her powers, used for demonstration purposes to make it clear who was in charge, but if she was willingly showing that much it meant she had more at her disposal.

So what better solution than to just not be involved? If the need ever arose, they could just let Ozpin and his folks deal with it. Cinder was a threat to Vale... and probably the world if he were to be honest with himself. Slipping a tip to someone who had a stake in the safety of the city would probably get some asses in gear, and if they got a good enough set-up... well, that would be that. Cinder was powerful, but then so were the professional huntsman of Beacon.

And if the Huntsman took some casualties along the way? Well that was just fine with him. Less annoyances to deal with when he actually did want to do something.

Grinning smugly, Roman sighed deeply and relaxed back into his recliner and began to ponder on other mysteries.

Namely, where the hell Neo even put all of that icecream. She was so goddamn tiny, how could she go through so much of the stuff?

* * *

"What's got you down _this_ time?" An exasperated Melanie asked, quirking her brow at the rather miffed looking Jaune Arc seated at the bar. Which, technically, he wasn't legally allowed to be seated at... but that was a moot point. "Seriously. Are you going to be mopey every time I see you or what, frosty?"

Shaking his head lamely, the teen replied. "I've been getting texts all day." He explained dully, restraining a twitch. "All of them from one person." One person who had gone out of her way to make any interaction he had with her difficult. It had started off innocently enough, just simple questions which he assumed would be used to help her with the documents.

It had since degraded into her pestering him with random questions for fun, if he had to guess.

Melanie chuckled lightly, leaning herself against the bar next to him. "Getting an ice cream headache are we?" She asked, amused by his predicament.

"Hardy har har." Jaune replied. "Seriously, Melanie, she asked me, and I quote, 'do the carpets match the drapes?'"

Melanie's eyes closed and her face scrunched up as she began furiously restraining her laughter. Unable to fully do so, a few snickers and chuckles managed to escape before she calmed herself. "That's absolutely amazing." She almost broke into another fit of giggles at the baleful look she received. "... did you answer?"

Jaune's face lit up in a bright blush, averting his eyes from the other girl. "... Yes." He admitted, mortified. "Emasculating as it is, Neo scares me enough that I've answered all of her questions truthfully." In his defense, he had no idea what kind of information his... business partner? Well, he had no clue what she even needed to know to forge documents. He sure as heck couldn't do it. So when she asked him questions, he kind of had to answer or he might cause problems later on down the line for himself.

Of course there were some questions he could tell point blank were meant solely to troll him. Such as that last one.

He still answered, though, because Neo scared him.

Seeing Melanie giving him a sly look, the teen had a bad feeling in his gut. "Yes?" He asked, reluctantly.

"I'm just wondering if that's the most personal thing she's asked you." Melanie replied cheekily.

Jaune nodded idly. "It's not. Not even close." Thus far, Neo had asked him about his sexual preference, shoe-size, previous relationships, and whether or not he was a virgin. Among other things.

Much to his mortification, Jaune had answered all of these questions truthfully. Of course, some had taken more prodding from the girl. He really did not like the fact that the deadly criminal knew he was a virgin, whether or not it really mattered in the long run.

Was it perhaps a bit much to be concerned Neo would make him regret not giving her the information she wanted? Maybe so. But Jaune rather liked being alive, and seeing as how Neo had already been paid for services rendered... well, yeah. He wouldn't put it past her to just kill him since she already had the lien in hand. It's not like it would be hard for her.

God, even if she was the best forge Junior could get, possibly even _the best_ forge... was it really worth the nightmares his overactive imagination had conjured up?

The worst part was that the only thing keeping these nightmares from being pleasant dreams was the fact that they ended with her swinging that fancy umbrella-sword of hers at his exposed throat.

Ugh, of all the people in this world, why did the person who could fake his transcripts have to be both an incredibly attractive girl and a psychopath? That was not a pleasant combination for his libido or sanity.

A sudden vibrating in his pocket made the white-haired teen cringe. "... Oh God." He mumbled dreadfully. "Here we go..."

Melanie began humming a rather iconic tune. One frequently associated with funerals.

As he pulled the scroll from his pocket, Jaune honestly couldn't fault her for it because he felt the same way. The gigantic grin on her face, however, he could totally blame her for.

"... What the hell, Neo?" Jaune groaned to himself in annoyance, shaking his head at the absurdity of it all. "Why do you need to know that? What kind of question is that?" Honestly, this was already past the point of ridiculousness... but now she was pushing even further past that.

Seeing the curiosity in his green eyed friend, the snowy teen presented his scroll to her with a sigh. "This is what I've been dealing with. All day."

Melanie leaned closer to look at the text, brow quirking at the message. "'Did you like having me pressed against your back?'" She read off the text, shooting a look towards her companion. "Something I'm missing?" The girl asked, wondering what relevance this had.

"She caught me off-guard... big time. I completely lost her for a good two seconds." Which, in the heat of battle, was an eternity. Melanie nodded, understanding the significance. "Next thing I know, she's practically glued to my back with her sword at my throat." Jaune shivered, shaking his head as if to force the memory out. "It was the second most terrifying experience of my life, and she's making a joke about it."

Giving the boy a pat on the shoulder to convey her sympathies, Melanie had to admit that she was curious about what the most terrifying experience of his life was if that was the case. But, she wouldn't say anything. Not normally the most tactful, seeing as how Miltiades was easily the more polite one, Melanie was somewhat unused to restraining her questions.

But Jaune was, by this point, a friend of hers. It had been three days since they met, and she had introduced him to her sister just last night. She'd spent most of her shift chatting with him these last few nights, just because there wasn't much else to do... and honestly, she rather liked him. It was nice to have someone decent to talk to when most of the people she interacted with were too busy staring at either her legs or her bust to hold a conversation.

At least the goons had gotten the message that she and her sister weren't interested. Junior was not pleased about having to replace so many guys in a single week.

And so, she would exercise her limited self-restraint and keep from prying.

Instead, she gave the teen a smirk. "So... what'cha gonna' tell her?" She asked deviously.

Unexpectedly, Jaune returned her teasing with a deadpan look. "'I was too busy concentrating on the sword at my throat to notice. Sorry.'"

Melanie shook her head, but said nothing. She was certain that such a response would garner a very specific counter-reply from the psychopath currently toying with his head, but this was easily more fun than warning him.

Said idea was proven as Jaune received the predicted counter from Neopolitan, which sent him into a mixture of an embarrassed flush and an angry twitch. "I'm really starting to regret my decisions." He admitted with grit teeth.

Chuckling lightly, the girl leaned in again to read the most recent message. As predicted, it was along the lines of 'wanna try again so you can get a better feel?' "I could have told you she would say something like that." Melanie admitted with a smirk.

"But it was funnier this way, right?" Jaune shot back, eyes rolling. "I get that a lot these days." Only a few more days before he could get his paperwork together and start getting ready to enter Beacon. Once he was there, he would never have to deal with Neo again... until she cashed in on the favor he owed her... that was a scary thought.

"Melanie, you shouldn't tease him so much." A new voice cut in, announcing the arrival of another girl. "People might get the wrong idea."

The duo at the counter turned to regard the newcomer with their own greetings. From Jaune it was a simple wave, while Melanie offered a bright smile at her sister's arrival.

Miltiades Malachite was similar to her sister in a lot of ways; being twins, the two of them had nearly identical faces and their physical conditioning ensured that their bodies were practically the same as well. The easiest way to differentiate between them would likely be their outfits, which contrasted as starkly as day and night.

Where Melanie was white and cyan, Miltiades was reds and blacks. Her own strapless dress was adorned with what seemed like newspaper headlines and a bow at the waist, the text and bow in a dark black with the dress a deep shade of crimson that stood out against her pale skin and bright green eyes, eyes that were further accentuated by her own red eyeliner.

Her hair was also shorter, kept in something of a bob cut rather than flowing down her back. Over her shoulders the girl had black furs, held at the front by a dark chain.

Much like her sister, Miltiades carried herself with the air of someone confident in a fight. The source of this confidence would be her twin claws, which folded back seamlessly into the red gloves covering her hands. Her legs, much like her sisters, were covered by thigh high boots in the appropriate color; in this case, red.

"Miltia, come to relax a bit?" The more talkative of the sisters asked with a knowing grin, cutting her eyes towards the teen to her immediate right even as she did so. "I'm sure the snowman here appreciates the company."

Said snowman released a snort in response. "Two beautiful women and _neither_ of them are trying to kill me? What else could a guy want?" It was a large improvement from one beautiful woman actively trying to kill him. Increase in quantity and quality.

Melanie smirked in reply, accepting the compliment without much reaction. Unseen by Jaune, however, was the slight blush that came to the face of the red-clad sister. Seeing that the teen had missed this made Melanie's smirk widen, even as she shot her sister a knowing look that drew a small pout in response. 'Who would have guessed that she would _actually_ be into him?'

Well, aside from her that is. Melanie hadn't been entirely untruthful when she'd told Jaune that her sister may take a liking to him, because Miltia was as much of a good girl as their profession allowed. And Jaune, when he wasn't being mopey or sarcastic, was a total teddy bear, all soft and cuddly and pleasant to have around.

She would admit it herself; Jaune Arc was an attractive young man with rather exotic looks about him, what with the snowy white hair, porcelain pale skin, and eyes as deep and blue as the ocean. Adding that in to his pleasant demeanor and sense of humor, he was a real catch.

However, her thoughts were more along the lines of just how he would be in bed, rather than how he would be on a date. In her sisters fantasies, it likely never went past kissing or groping... whereas those were pretty much the beginning of Melanie's own fantasies on the subject. It was just a difference in how the two of them thought.

And seeing as how their relationship was a bit too fresh for her to reasonably propose such a thing, both for herself and the boy in question, she would keep those fun little thoughts to herself... or Miltia when she felt like teasing her sister.

But for now, taunting Jaune about the girl who had been texting him like a clingy lover would be taking priority. Especially because she could hear the tell-tale signs of the scroll receiving a new message.

Grinning as Miltia settled in on the seat to Jaune's immediate right, herself on his left, she wondered just what the crazed ice cream girl would come up with next.

Seeing Jaune's rather choked expression, it would probably be good.

"What the _fuck_ , Neo!?" He couldn't help but grit out through clenched teeth, visibly restraining himself from throwing the phone in frustration. "How is this even remotely related to anything!?" Jaune was just below shouting level at this point.

Miltiades put a calming hand on his shoulder, one eyebrow peaked in interest. "Jaune? Are you okay?"

"What did she send you this time, snowflake?" Melanie asked, leaning over his shoulder to take a look.

Shortly after doing so, she began to laugh loudly.

This, of course, drew the attention of the other sister, who was too polite to simply lean over and look at someone's personal messages. "Something wrong?"

A deep, tired sigh slipped from the teen as he lay his head down on the bar, passing the scroll over to Miltia with an exhausted air about him. "I'm done being surprised or annoyed with this crap." Jaune decided, mumbling into the bar counter.

Now Miltiades was even more curious. Just what in the world had the girl sent him? Taking a look at the scroll, her eyes widened a bit and she fought down a small blush.

Rather than an actual message, this time Neopolitan had sent a picture of herself.

It wasn't anything inappropriate, really. The girl was laid out on a couch, her signature smirk readily apparent on her lips as one arm held the scroll aloft to take the picture, the other arm settled just below her bust.

The thing was, though, that she was dressed in clothes more suited for... well, being around the house. In this case, a pair of short white workout shorts and a pink tanktop, which had rode up somewhat and revealed a good portion of her stomach.

On her chest was a hand-written note in an elegant scrawl.

'Want a taste?'

Miltia handed the scroll back to Jaune, who accepted it with another sigh. "This girl is going to drive me insane one way or another." God, what was wrong with this situation? Here he was, the shut-in Arc who had left home with dreams of becoming a hero... being taunted by the criminal he had paid to fake his transcripts into Beacon. The very attractive criminal who had kicked his ass all over a rooftop not even a block away from here, who had nearly slit his throat. Who had managed to chase him across the entire city with ease.

And now she was harassing him via texts. If this were a normal girl, one might infer that they had some sort of interest in him romantically... but Jaune was of the mind that she was just toying with him for fun.

As such, rather than ignoring the image or otherwise being flustered by it, Jaune gave the scroll a deadpan look and typed up a simple reply of his own.

 _'Yes.'_

Immediately, a message was sent back to him, as though the girl on the other end had been awaiting his response. ' _I didn't think you'd be so blunt, but that's fine. I suppose I'll reward your honesty with a status update.'_ Jaune blinked, surprised that the response he had sent on a whim had earned a positive reaction of some sort. _'Things on my end are going according to schedule, no issues have cropped up. You can expect the papers in a few more days, I'll text to let you know.'_

Unable to let the issue drop now that he was actually receiving a _normal_ message from Neo, Jaune found himself tapping out a question of his own. _'Was there any particular reason you have been asking me random questions all day?'_

 _'I thought it was funny.'_ Jaune had expected this, but he wasn't sure how he felt about the brutal honesty.

Almost afraid to pursue this line of questioning, but burning with curiosity, the teen through caution to the wind and asked one last thing. _'And the picture?'_

 _'Roman bet me a tub of ice cream I wouldn't. So I did. I'm now eating the ice cream.'_

Jaune let his head fall onto the counter with a groan, surprising the twins who had been watching him throughout his conversation with Neo. "Ice cream. She sent the picture because someone bet her a tub of ice cream that she wouldn't." He mumbled this mostly to himself, as if to convey his disbelief. Of all the random ridiculous reasons she could have, it was over something as simple as ice cream?

Another ping indicated a reply, and Jaune sighed before opening one eye to glance at the scroll screen.

Neo had sent another picture. She was in the exact same position as before, laid comfortably out on a large plush couch, wearing the short-shorts and tanktop. The only difference was the fact that this time, she had a bowl of neapolitan ice cream on her still exposed stomach, her previously free hand guiding a spoonful of the frozen treat to her lips as she regarded the camera with a rather pleased smile.

To his credit, Jaune didn't even care anymore. If she wanted to send him nudes by this point he would be unconcerned. He was absolutely done letting this girl harass him over his scroll, and so if it wasn't pertinent to the paperwork or something equally important he wasn't even going to give her the satisfaction of flustering him.

"I don't think I can ever eat neapolitan ice cream again." The snowy teen admitted, seemingly at random, to the two girls at his side. "Seriously. I don't think I could do it."

Melanie leaned over to pat him on the shoulder. "I'm sure the trauma will lessen once she gets tired of you." Her attempt at consoling the boy was ruined by the amusement permeating her voice as she did so. She found this situation positively hilarious.

Her sister, on the other hand, seemed genuinely sympathetic. Which was kind of adorable, really, because they were a pair of bodyguards for a gang leader and well known criminal, and yet her sister was still such a nice girl sometimes.

"She'll probably stop once the two of you don't have any business." Miltia told him with a small smile. "Just give it a bit of time and I'm sure she'll get bored."

"Oh man, I really do hope so." Jaune replied with a wan smile. "Seriously, this girl terrifies me. I don't know if I could take having her hounding me for much longer."

Snickering at the predicament the teen had gotten himself into yet again, Melanie chimed in with her own thoughts. "Scale of one to ten; how much would you freak out if she turned out to be into you?" The girl almost broke down at the rather horrified look this brought from the teen.

"Ten. And that's just because eleven wasn't an option." Jaune replied immediately. "Seriously. I have nightmares that start out like that." He'd actually had two since meeting her, one just last night and one the first night after the incident.

Melanie quirked a brow. "You have dreams about her?"

"Melanie," Jaune began in a deadpan, leveling her a rather irked look, "that girl was my second near death experience within a year. How could I not dream about that so soon after it happened?" It didn't help that Neo was an attractive girl who had her entire body pressed quite tightly against his back at one point... though that was during the brief moment he had pressed their bodies together while smashing her into the wall, so it hadn't been the best feeling for either of them he was sure.

Looking back on it yet again, Jaune couldn't help but dwell on one part of that encounter.

Good grief, that girl was absolutely _tiny_.

The memory of her against his back only emphasized this, because he had practically smothered her. Jaune was a fairly tall guy himself, which left Neo staring at his ribs essentially.

And despite that diminutive frame, she had thoroughly trounced him in a fight.

"... second in a year?" Miltia chimed in, concern evident in her voice even as she tried to seem nonchalant. It was quite clear she was curious, but didn't want to pry.

"Nearly drowned in a frozen lake when my sister forced me out to go ice-skating with her." Jaune began explaining, not concerned in the slightest with the sudden direction the conversation had taken. Anything to keep his mind off of Neo. "Yeah, the ice wasn't as thick as we thought, and she was on the thinnest part of it... long story short; I managed to get her back to dry land, but the ice fell in under me." He chuckled at the concern this drew from Miltia, pleased to see someone he had met not too long ago so interested in his well-being. "I lucked out and managed to activate my Aura, unlocked my Semblance, and was able to get out of the whole thing without any issues... it did, however, result in all of the oh so clever snow-themed nicknames I've received, since my hair and skin paled to this color."

Miltiades was visibly relieved at the conclusion of the story. "I'm glad everything turned out okay." She hated hearing stories where people didn't get lucky breaks like that, especially since they were much more common. While she didn't particularly care about each and every person in the city, it would be nice if no one ever had to suffer. Unrealistic, but a pleasant fantasy. "How did you end up saving your sister, though?"

Jaune lifted up the curious, crooked stick he always carried on him. "This branch, actually." He revealed with a fond smile. "When I first saw it, I thought that I could hook it around my sister's waist to drag her off the ice. I had the strength to do it, but the branch had to be strong enough not to just break. Luckily, it was." The two were looking at the stick incredulously, and so Jaune elaborated further. "The reason it's still in good shape is probably because of my Semblance. You see all the little frosty looking patterns and stuff on it?" At their nods, he proceeded. "From what I've gathered, that seems to represent my Aura being fed into it or something. When I get really mad, that same stuff shows up on my hoodie. It seems to enhance the durability enough that I can swing it like it's made of steel instead of wood."

Of course, it was still just a branch. He'd probably need to get a new weapon to use at some point, but for now his stick was enough. He liked it, a weapon of that size and shape felt right to him. Maybe he could get a nice extending staff so he could actually carry it on him without being noticed? But, for now... his stick was fine.

"So you're telling me that you would take this to a fight." Melanie asked skeptically, inspecting the wood. The designs on it did seem rather odd, as they weren't carved in. It was like they were looking at a frosted over branch, which was worth noting because it was nowhere near cold enough for that and Jaune's "weapon" of choice was always in that state.

The teen nodded. "Yep. It's sturdier than it looks, and the hook at the end is really useful at times." And moreover, there was always something oh so satisfying about clunking someone over the head with a stick.

"Whatever." Melanie shrugged. "If you say it works, I'm not going to argue with it."

The Arc boy gave a slight shrug of his own. "To be honest, I'm still trying to figure out how my Semblance works. I've got a lot of it down, but I always feel like there's something I'm missing." He would probably end up figuring that out at some point during his stay at Beacon, but right now he was stumped. "But what I do know how to use is cool as all heck." Jaune would admit to anyone that asked that he had gotten very, very lucky with his Semblance. Both in when it had activated and how it worked, because it was incredibly useful and also really fun to use.

He'd gained a new appreciation for snow when he found himself able to create it whenever he wanted, and a cool breeze on a hot day didn't need to be a coincidence anymore.

Funny enough, he'd gone from liking the summer months to hating them. If it got too hot out he legitimately felt like he was melting, it was awful. But it didn't really weaken his Semblance, so he could cool himself down without much problem.

"Got any tricks then, frosty?" Melanie asked curiously, having never really seen his Semblance in action. All of them had heard of or seen the bouncer who had been restrained by ice, but no one had actually seen him use it.

Jaune smirked in reply. "Of course. What would the point of having ice powers be if I didn't use them for my own amusement?" With that said, he began twirling his index finger around, generating a tiny twister of cold air. Slowly, he twisted his hand, eventually ending up with the palm facing upward while he continued to spin his finger in small circles. A moment later, he stopped the motion of his finger and clenched his hand tightly, causing the little windstorm to disperse and sending a small blast of cold air outwards, tousling his hair in the process.

"That's all?" The white-clad sister asked skeptically, having expected a bit... more.

"Do you want me to start a blizzard in Junior's club? Because I can do that." Jaune countered dully. "I don't think he'd be pleased if I turned this place into a giant snowglobe." As amusing as it would be, that wasn't how he wanted to spend his time here. He rather enjoyed hanging around and if an icestorm kicked up in the middle of the club there were only so many suspects. "As far as other tricks... well, I mean I can make my own popsicles?" Something he did often, as a matter of fact. Once again; ice powers were awesome.

Miltia giggled quietly, having no trouble at all picturing the white-haired teen in a kitchen. After a moment, she glanced at the clock and sighed lightly. "Sister, we need to get going. Junior needs us for a meeting, remember?"

Melanie gave her a doe in the headlights look. "... no, actually, I forgot. Thanks Miltia." That would've been embarrassing. "Right. See you later snowman, we've gotta get going." She waved a hand lightly, pushing off from the bar. "Lead the way, sister."

The girl in red stood as well, stretching a bit as she did so. "Goodbye, Jaune. See you tomorrow?"

"Of course." Jaune responded immediately, smiling cheerfully. "This is quickly becoming one of my favorite places to hang out." In no small part due to the company, he left unsaid. He was certain the two of them got the message, though, judging by the identical smirks that found their way to the sister's faces.

As the pair walked off, a content sigh slipped from Jaune's lips. Life was pretty good right now, honestly. His plans to get into Beacon were on track, which was the hardest thing he had to do. As a kid with no idea about the criminal underworld of Vale, it was really a stroke of luck that he had managed to get through all of this without being killed or coerced into doing something he didn't want to do.

Dealing with Neo and her shenanigans was going to be tiresome, but he'd been assured that she was one of, if not _the_ , best at creating false documents. Why such a whimsical person had a skill of that magnitude was beyond him, but there you have it. Despite all of his complaining about her, putting up with her antics was a small price to pay for something like this. As long as she wasn't trying to kill him, he could stomach whatever she threw at him.

Looking down at his scroll yet again, the teen Arc sighed for what seemed like the thousandth time this night. Staring back at him was the picture of Neo, comfortably laid out on the couch and eating her icecream with that satisfied smile of hers.

Upon review, it was a new expression on her face. During their brief encounter, her smirk was practically glued in place and only briefly did her more violent expressions make themselves known. The smug smile on her lips in this picture seemed softer, much more innocent than the others he had seen on her face.

She was cute, honestly. Downright adorable in that image. It clashed horribly with what he knew of her, and Jaune found himself frowning at the picture.

... Dear lord, that girl was so freaking _tiny._

* * *

AN: And that's that, folks. We're moving on ever so slowly towards the part where something interesting happens.

I suspect chapter three is going to be... something, all right. Anyhoo.


	3. Chapter 3

Alright, how is everyone doing today? I'm back again with an update for this bad boy.

So, in this chapter I've done something that I am honestly a little concerned about. It's a decision that I and my beta-reader view as perfectly solid and realistic, however I'm a little unsure as to how readers will take it. Seriously, this was one of the most difficult chapters for me to write just because of one scene. I'm sure you'll realize which one when you reach it.

Anyhoo. I've gone over this chapter more than any other thus far because of the decision I feel will be controversial, but errors may still arise.

Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY or anything else.

* * *

Junior had seen a lot of things in his life. Good and bad, strange and terrifying. All that jazz. He'd been around the block a few times, made deals with people he couldn't trust as far as he could throw, and paid the consequences for his own mistakes dozens of times. He was the kind of man who got up from that, shook off the dirt, and went on his merry way towards making something of himself in this world.

Which brought him to now, where he was the man in charge of a lucrative business. A lot of folks would be satisfied with just sitting up in their fancy office, watching their many hired hands take care of the dirty work... but not him.

Frankly, Junior thought that was a boring way to live his damn life. Hei Xiong was far too active for that crap.

And so he worked the bar at his own establishment, pretty much solo as a matter of fact. He had like two guys he could actually rely on to work the bar besides him, everyone else was basically an idiot.

That wasn't even meant to be insulting; they just weren't good at tending the bar.

Half the time they poured the wrong drink, the other half it ended up on them. Those guys were far better suited for the role of bouncer, security, or intimidation... things that they still managed to screw up sometimes, though he could forgive the rather lackluster performance of his bouncer days ago due to the kid having a Semblance. That kind of thing was beyond his usual help and he knew it. But basic tasks were the kind of thing anyone should be able to do, even the boss.

So that was why he was standing at his usual spot at behind the counter, passing the time by wiping out a glass with a damp cloth. It was already clean by now, but Junior liked to keep his hands occupied and there wasn't much else to draw his interest... well, aside from the two girls seated at the bar in front of him.

Melanie and Miltiades Malachite, twin sisters who had ended up working with him a while back. He couldn't even really put a name to the position they held, seeing as how they did just about whatever he asked. The two of them usually acted as security around the club, but they served as enforcers every so often as well... and occasionally he could convince one of them to watch the bar for a bit, but usually they would get bored. Melanie tended to just order some random suit to do it in her stead, which never ended well.

Technically he was their boss, but those girls were dangerous. Against the two of them he didn't think he could win in a straight fight, and help like that was hard to come by. So he let a lot of their antics slide because, honestly, it would hurt him more to lose them than it would for some bumbling idiot to spill a drink on a customer.

Recently, the pair of them had taken a rather startling amount of interest in a certain teen he had spoken with briefly. Jaune Arc, as he recalled from the conversations he had heard from the sisters... or snowflake, snowball, frosty, snowman and whatever other creative names Melanie came up with for him.

That kid had managed to survive a run-in with the business end of Neo's sword, which was fairly impressive. Neopolitan was one of the more dangerous people in this business, especially if you didn't see her coming. She was quick, vicious, and had a tendency to be very hard to pin down. A single opening was really all she needed to put someone down, and making that opening was not hard for her in the slightest.

'Kid has a better chance in Beacon than I thought.' The bearded man admitted to himself with a smirk. 'If he can last more than a minute against Neo, that's already something special.'

Though to be fair, the girl in question had probably been playing with him. If she had been serious, the kid would probably never have seen or heard her coming one way or another.

"So." The big man spoke up suddenly, drawing the attention of the sisters. "How's that crush of yours doing?" He asked casually, as though it was common knowledge that they were enamored with someone.

This drew rather scathing looks from the both of them, something that amused Junior quite a bit.

"It's not a crush." Miltiades replied seriously, glaring at her employer balefully. She got enough teasing from Melanie over the subject, there was no need for another person to start going on about it. She did not have a crush on Jaune, she just thought he was a funny, interesting, and nice person. Did that automatically mean she wanted to date him?

Melanie smirked. "It totally is a crush, but moving on." She tossed that topic behind them, cutting off her sister's incoming argument. "Why the interest in snowball, Junior? You haven't mentioned him once even though he's been wallflowering in here for the past few days."

The big man shrugged, setting the glass and cloth down. "You and your sister are talking to him pretty much every night. Thought you might have some reason for it." He leveled a knowing look towards them, waggling his eyebrows suggestively.

Snorting in laughter at that, Melanie replied after a second. "Well I certainly wouldn't be adverse to it, you know. Frosty is a pretty good looking guy, and we get along really well."

Miltiades blushed lightly. "I just think he's interesting, I probably never would have talked to him if Melanie hadn't pulled me over for introductions." He _was_ rather handsome, and his looks were sort of exotic too. Blue eyes, snow-white hair, and smooth, fair skin that seemed to contrast with his cheerful demeanor made for an interesting combination.

"And by interesting she totally means "boyfriend material."" Melanie contributed.

"I do not." Miltiades countered stoically.

Junior let out a loud laugh. "Hah, if I'd known bringing up the kid would get this kind of reaction I would've done it a while ago." Man, that kid seemed to have found the sister's soft spot or something. They had some pretty high standards as far as he knew. The two of them had turned down guys left and right, some more painfully than others.

"Feh." Miltia turned away from the duo, no longer concerning herself with their discussion. She was so fed up with this crap.

Melanie found that hilarious, but kept her snickers to herself. "So when's Torchwick showing up?" She asked, intending to draw her sister back into the conversation via mention of business.

Junior, seeing what she was doing but being unconcerned, shrugged. "Like ten minutes maybe. Could be less. Roman is a whimsical man." Making appointments with Roman was always was always a pain in the ass. He'd show up, do his usual routine as the incredibly flamboyant man-child he was, and eventually hash out the terms and let everyone move on with their lives.

Still, his money was good. Very good. Some of the best, as a matter of fact.

Anyone who could put up with Neopolitan on a daily basis had to have something going for them, though. Either Roman secretly had the patience of a saint, he knew some secret to keep the crazy girl under control, or he was just too damn crazy for it to matter in the first place.

"Hello there, Junior my friend! How are you on this fine evening?" A loud, boisterous voice called out, drawing attention to the arrival of the man in question.

Roman Torchwick strode confidently forward, one hand twirling his cane as he whistled a jaunty tune.

As he turned to regard the ginger-haired man, Junior bit back a sigh. Truly, there was no one on Remnant quite like Roman. He carried himself with the air of someone who held all the chips, acting like a comedian at times and a killer at others. There was something special about one such as himself, and it had been proven time and time again that whatever Roman had going on in that head of his, it was for his own benefit.

But disregarding that, Junior hopped over the bar to stand on the other side. "Roman. You always have to insist on face-to-face transactions, don't you?"

The criminal mastermind grinned at him. "But of course. Wiring money is faster, but it's so _impersonal_. I like to think that men such as us are above that, wouldn't you agree?"

Junior didn't restrain his exasperation, eyes rolling visibly. "You want my men. How many?" Roman hadn't given him a number previously, only asking that he keep some guys handy.

Not losing his playful demeanor, the man replied. "'Bout a half dozen... no, actually, just four will do." He amended, waving a hand. "Just need some dumb muscle for a few jobs, I'll have'em back before you know it."

"I can spare you four men, that's fine." Junior decided after a moment of consideration. "Usual price per guy, and if they manage to fuck it up come back to me and we'll work something out." He was very prideful of his men doing what they got paid to do; if they screwed something up and blew the payday, it made him look bad. When dealing with someone like Roman Torchwick, it was best to keep things friendly. The man had done him some favors and he had done as much in return, they had been working together on and off for a while now and it had always been beneficial to both parties.

Unlike a lot of people in this business, Roman Torchwick was reliable. Once you proved to be on a level that was worth his time, the man was likely to stick to his word. He knew the value of good contacts, and Junior was far from arrogant to consider himself one of the best people to know in this city.

Roman's smile spread across his face, appearing for all the world like a man speaking with a close friend rather than a business partner of sorts. "Excellent. I'll hire your men, then, and we'll be off on a merry way." Preparing to retrieve the lien meant for payment, something which drew the hawklike gaze of the Malachite sisters, Roman paused for a moment before snapping his fingers, seemingly remembering something. "Oh, right, one last thing I wanted to ask you."

"What is it?" The big man asked, crossing his arms over his chest. "Need me to order ice cream in bulk to sate your midget's appetite?" Honestly, Junior found it downright hilarious that one of the dummy businesses Roman set up over the years was practically dedicated to Neopolitan's sweet tooth. It wasn't like a well known criminal could just go out and purchase the stuff at the convenience store, and Roman would never lower himself to stealing the stuff. Thus, he had opened an ice cream parlor of his own.

Though the image of the master thief swiping icecream from a grocery store nearly made his stoic mask crack right there.

Roman blinked, his one visible eye shining with amusement. "Oh, she's not gonna like you calling her a midget. I'll keep it between us, though, cause we're good friends." He held a finger to his lips, making a small shushing noise before going back to normal. "But anyhow, I hear that Neo's new pet project keeps on popping in around here. You seen him around?"

This drew the attention of the two sisters immediately, though neither said anything. But Roman could tell that their eyes were on him again, he could practically feel the intensity of their gazes.

Jeez, women were freaking scary.

Junior nodded slowly, seemingly confused over the question. "Yeah. The kid pops in every night basically."

"Whattaya think of him?" Roman asked, leaning forward on his cane. "Cuz' I'm interested in meeting this kid, if only for the novelty."

"He's just some kid, Roman." Junior replied dully. "I don't know jack shit about him aside from the fact that he's got one hell of a Semblance."

The master thief gave a light bob of his head. "Yep, the ice controlling thing he does." He had gotten a lot of the story from Neo. "But really, he's been here all these times and you haven't taken any interest in the kid?" Seeing the rather intent looks from the sisters, he turned his line of questioning a bit. "Or maybe you've had your girls here keeping an eye on him?"

The twins bristled at the implication that they had befriended Jaune just to watch him, but said no more as the assumption wasn't unfair. Miltiades, however, kept her glare on the thief for a few moments longer before schooling her features.

Junior growled a bit, the sound reminding all present of an Ursa staring down it's prey. "What the twins do and who they interact with is not my concern; the kid talks with them every night almost. I don't give a shit what they talk about."

Roman held his hands up disarmingly. "Whoa there big guy, I ain't trying to start something. Just wanted to know a bit more about the special snowflake that caught Neo's attention." Seriously, whoever the kid was there had to be something about him that Neo found interesting or she wouldn't keep harassing him. She wouldn't even have taken the job, honestly, even if they did have the benefit of a potential out later on down the road.

Neopolitan was a whimsical creature. If something bored her, it was either abandoned or executed depending on her mood.

Roman did not allow her to have pets. He was an evil bastard at times, but there was no way he was going to see what happened when she got bored of an animal.

He repressed a shiver at the thought of the many, many, _many_ disturbing things she could do if she became bored of a pet.

Never would Roman admit it, seeing as how he was supposed to be the superior in their little partnership, but Neo scared the everliving shit out of him sometimes.

Junior released a breath through his nose, holding his hand out. "Pay up, grab the boys, and get on your way Roman. We've gotta get back to business and you can't be seen here by anyone that matters."

The redheaded man nodded, understanding the caution. Junior's club and his information network were synonymous with one another, and he couldn't afford anyone getting concrete dirt on him. He was the blackmailer, after all. "I'll be right out, then." Roman relented, tossing a bundle of lien towards the big man with a smirk. "Good seeing you again Junior, girls." He nodded pleasantly, tipping his bowler hat in an almost mocking fashion, before turning on his heel and making his way out of the building, pointing at random suited men as he went.

As the white-clad criminal walked out, each of the men he had indicated slipped themselves off of the floor in order to prepare for a new job. Roman had been a business partner of Junior's long enough that all of the men on the big guy's pay roll knew the drill with Torchwick jobs. Make yourself scarce for a bit and then meet up at the usual place.

* * *

Roman was having a pretty good day.

He woke up this morning, had a good breakfast, proceeded to laze about for a few hours, and then gotten around to actually looking over some of the documents Cinder had been wanting him to take care of.

Dust, dust, dust. Cinder wanted the stuff; all of it.

And boy did he really mean _all_ of it. By this point his crime spree had probably been listed as the single longest spate of dust thefts in history. And he wasn't even done, not by a mile.

Why the heck did Cinder want so much of the stuff? He really had no idea. It wasn't his place to question the boss lady, not to her face anyway.

Anyhoo. He'd gotten around to looking over the papers to see... more dust heists she wanted made and something about a guy she wanted dead. So nothing new.

Cinder was a complicated woman, but her demands were oh so simple. She wanted things, and he was to get them. It was a very basic relationship they had, in which she coerced him to do things he did not particularly care to do simply because he was too smart to refuse her.

Dust robbery was not how Roman Torchwick wanted to operate. Especially not frequent robberies. He was a man who much preferred a single grand heist every so often, something that left the masses in a shocked awe, wondering how in the world he had pulled it off...

Not petty theft. That was more to the speed of the urchin that Cinder had taken in, Emerald Sustrai. The girl was seemingly obsessed with their employer, something that made dealing with her quite a pain. In addition, she seemed to take offense to his addition to their merry little band of murderers and thieves.

Feh. That girl was just some petty thief with a painfully effective Semblance, the kind that was incredibly dangerous though. He should know, after all, seeing as how Neo was much the same in that sense. Which was, quite likely, why Cinder was so keen on keeping her out of the spotlight.

Neopolitan did not enjoy being cooped up in the slightest. Which meant he had to deal with her shit.

Needless to say, Roman was not particularly pleased with this. He had expended far more icecream in the past few months than he ever had before, just trying to keep his partner under some sort of control and save what little sanity remained in his mind.

Thankfully, a distraction came along. Roman Torchwick was not a religious man, but he had no qualms with thinking of Jaune Arc as a blessing.

Regardless of his usefulness down the line as a potential out and scapegoat, the boy served an even greater purpose.

Somehow, and Roman would admit to himself that he had no idea how, this scruffy looking kid had managed to draw Neo's attention... and hold it for more than a day.

She had been pestering the kid instead of him. Roman's scroll was, for the first time in weeks, not being bombarded with random ass questions and wonderings from an incredibly bored Neopolitan, who had asked him some of the absolute dumbest questions he had ever heard just because she knew he would have to answer if only to get her to stop asking.

But at long last, he had left that behind him.

It was heavenly. One never knew how much something meant to them until it was gone, as was the case with the beautifully empty message box on Roman's scroll.

He was half-tempted to give the kid a hug when he saw him.

Such a good day, it was. He'd done everything he set out to do, and it left him feeling on top of the world. Which was a place Roman felt very at home in.

So elated was he, that he hadn't noticed the other figure in the alleyway he was traversing. Usually, this particular path was one hundred percent clear; it was very roundabout, back roads, out of the way. The perfect sort of route to keep one from being discovered by those one wished to avoid.

Unfortunately for Roman, someone else had stumbled upon it literally by chance and was now taking this route... in the other direction.

And amazingly enough, this other person was also not paying the most attention... for a surprisingly related reason, as he would later learn.

But, for the moment, Roman's good mood took a sharp turn as he forcefully bumped into another person, head on, with the kind of impact that sent him reeling a few steps, disrupting his rather pleasant mood as he turned a sharp eye onto the perpetrator.

Said perpetrator had also stumbled back, but having been occupied with his scroll at the time this person wasn't able to catch themselves fully on the wall as Roman had, and thusly fell onto their rump with a solid thump.

"Ow." A deadpan voice mumbled out in response to the spill, followed by an exhausted sigh. "Sorry about that, I was distracted... getting an ice cream headache."

Quirking a brow at the rather odd phrasing, Roman paused in the immediate reaction of pointing the business end of Melodic Cudgel at the scruffy looking kid on the ground as he realized just who it was.

What a coincidence! His pleasant mood returned full force as he recognized the teen on the ground to be the source of his elation in the first place.

With that in mind, Roman flipped the cane around to hold it by the end and slipped the crook into the kid's hood. Finding purchase, he quickly yanked the teen to his feet with a small 'hup!' of effort, before pulling his weapon of choice back and offering the boy a winning smile. "Apology accepted, kid. Somethin' urgent on the scroll or what?" He chuckled to himself at the sour look that came to the teen's face, knowing full well that his troubles were induced by a certain tri-colored gnome.

"I wouldn't say "urgent"..." Jaune began, offering a brief smile of gratitude to the man who had helped him up... even if it was in a rather unconventional way. "But yeah, scroll conversation got out of hand. I've been... dealing with this for a few days now." Another blip signaled a new message, and the teen sighed again. "Damn it woman when will you get tired of this?" He complained aloud.

"Clingy girlfriend, then. Got'cha." Roman's smile threatened to split his face as the teen gave him a horrified look, quickly sputtering denials.

Good, good, the kid could tell that his little psychopath was more than a pretty face. That put him up a notch in Roman's book, but the blatant display of fear was kind of killing it... to be fair, though, Neo had come very close to killing him if her story was an exact retelling. He figured that would put a damper on anyone's attraction.

"No! No, no, she is not my girlfriend... and if she heard anyone say that, they would probably never be seen again..." He mumbled that last part to himself with an obvious shiver, shaking his head. "No, she's just a... friend of mine."

"Business partner would likely be a better term, I'm sure." Roman chuckled at the shocked look on the teen's face. "Name's Roman, kid. Roman Torchwick. Explain a few things?" And more amusement came to the thief as the boy's face lit up in realization, before an irritated look came to him.

Jaune gave him a look that could freeze a man solid. "So you're the reason she sent that picture." He was clearly not pleased by this.

Roman, on the other hand, returned the look with a sunny disposition that many would find unfitting on him. "Yep, that'd be me. How'd you like that by the way? I thought she was almost unbearably cute like that." Really, it was too easy to rile up teenagers. Little things like this had already miffed the kid so bad that he could feel the air cooling around him.

Though, suddenly it warmed back up. "Right... sorry. I'm just stressed out... Neo hasn't stopped harassing me since I met her, even if I haven't seen her since then."

A sympathetic look came from the man, and it was both honest and real. Again, unlike Roman most would agree. "Yeah. She'll do that. She's been bored off of her ass lately, so you're the first outlet she's come across to vent in... well, a while." Months. It had been months since Neo could just freely roam about and do her thing... that, of course, being whatever the hell she wanted. He walked a bit closer and patted the teen on the shoulder. "Seriously, kid, you'll get used to it."

He had, eventually... but now he didn't have to worry about it, because Neo got a new toy. Roman would refrain from mentioning that to the kid, however. Best to let him think he wasn't alone in his suffering.

"She does this to you too?" The boy asked, almost hopefully.

... and Roman was unable to restrain himself in the face of such honest hope. "Yeah, she did..." He grinned widely, pointing the hook of his Melodic Cudgel towards a rooftop. "'Till she found a more entertainin' toy! Later, kid!" With that, he fired the crook of his cane towards the rooftop, where it latched on to the railing.

Moments later, the master thief was sent flying gracefully towards the top of the building, laughing maniacally all the way even as the white haired teen in the alleyway stared at his retreating figure incredulously.

"... what the hell is wrong with people in this city?" Jaune asked himself dully, staring at the place the man had been. He could swear he still heard the maniacal laughter of the man, along with shouts that sounded vaguely like "I'm free as a bird!" or something similar.

Shrugging his shoulders lamely, the teen continued on his way to the club he had been frequenting as of late... frowning as his scroll notified him of yet another message. "... if I ignore her, would she stop or come find me personally?" Jaune wondered to himself idly, debating as to whether or not it was worth the risk.

In the end, though, he sighed deeply and looked over Neo's latest random thoughts...

* * *

Upon reaching the outside of Junior's establishment, Jaune couldn't help but feel like something was... off.

He couldn't quite place his finger on it, but it just seemed like there was something different than usual. Shrugging off the rather bizarre feeling, the white haired teen plodded his way towards the entrance of the nightclub with a small smile.

Jaune was looking forward to another night of conversing with Melanie and Miltiades. The two of them were, currently, highlights of his life. He resided in a crappy hotel in a dangerous part of town, had very little money to his name, and was constantly bombarded with random questions and thoughts from a girl who had nearly killed him... and then proceeded to worm her way into his everyday life.

So having a pleasant, civil, and above all else _normal_ conversation with the twins, who were both intelligent, funny, and a treat to be around in addition to being beautiful women... well, that was just a breath of fresh air.

With that thought in mind, a spring came to Jaune's step as he stepped closer and closer to the entrance of the club.

Seriously, though, something felt different about tonight. Was it the run-in he had with Roman Torchwick earlier? Was it the lack of people mingling out front?

'No...' Jaune realized, eyes widening in surprise as the realization hit him. "It's quiet." He muttered to himself, eyes darting around suspiciously. The Club was not a quiet place; music blared so loudly from the inside that it was easily discernible from this distance.

So why was it silent out here?

With that in mind, Jaune's slow, leisurely steps transitioned into a full-on sprint even as he swung his make-shift staff into his typical loose combat stance.

He rushed through the entryway, noting again that the club was bereft of the normal music and sounds of partying. Now all he could hear was the ring of metal on metal, and what sounded like gunshots.

That certainly spurred him on, the teen pushing himself to move even faster.

Jaune burst from the long hallway just in time to see some blonde girl drive her elbow into Melanie's gut after dodging a high kick, sending the white-clad girl into a stumble.

He didn't stop moving for even a second, a cold fury welling up in his gut as he tapped into his Semblance...

Melanie flailed briefly, attempting to right herself only to have her arm grabbed by her opponent. Using the hold, the blonde twisted, forcing her to follow the motion lest her arm be severely injured. After a few turns, the blond hopped into the air, bringing her leg right into the path of the black haired girl's face with force that would easily put her out of the fight if it connected.

It didn't connect.

Shock flashed in the lilac eyes of the girl who had been stopped mid kick for the briefest moment, only able to comprehend that her strike had been halted by what looked like a hook at the end of a frost covered branch, before she was flung forcefully towards the wall of the podium the DJ had once been occupying.

Stumbling from the lack of stability after being forced to build up such momentum, Melanie stumbled and would have fallen if not for a pair of strong arms wrapping around her form to steady her.

Confused but appreciative, the girl turned her gaze towards her savior only to blink in shock. "Wow... thanks, snowflake." The girl mumbled, a wan smile coming to her lips even as she let the boy support her. That last hit to the stomach was a killer, she was incredibly woozy. Despite that, though, she still had to deal with the blonde who had just gotten up after slamming into a wall. Melanie attempted to push off of the white haired teen, only to find her attempts halted by the boy himself. She was again confused, turning to look at his face.

What she saw there was an expression of cold fury that sent shivers down her spine, in a lot of good ways she might add. "Melanie." More shivers were restrained, just hearing him speak in such a way... the anger was so blatant, so obvious, and it was directed like a weapon towards the brawler of a girl who had put her in this state... but his voice was so soft, filled with warmth and concern that she had very rarely seen directed towards her before. "Can you walk?"

Certainly, she could. Especially after the sight of his icy demeanor had burned itself into her mind. That was like a bucket of cold water right there. "Yes." She replied, grimacing slightly. "Limp, more like, but yeah."

The temperature around the two of them was low... and steadily dropping, she noticed. "And Miltia?" He asked again in that same tone.

Melanie flinched a bit. "Blonde bitch knocked her out of the fight. She's out cold in a pile of glass." The shivers were now equal parts due to his tone and the still lowering temperature.

"Go help her, if you can." Jaune ordered, his piercing blue eyes locked on the girl who was now staring across the room at him. "I'll handle this."

Briefly, Melanie considered arguing. He didn't really have any reason to get into this kind of fight, seeing as how the security of the club was their job, not his... but the way he was speaking made it very clear that this wasn't an offer. He was going to do it whether or not she continued to fight, and she was hardly in any condition to continue.

A wry smile found it's way to her lips, and Melanie found herself leaning forward on her toes to deliver a light kiss onto the cheek of her knight in shining armor. "Go get'er, snowball." She was going to have some interesting dreams tonight, that was for sure.

In normal circumstances, such a gesture would have had Jaune stuttering and blushing up a storm. But right now he was so damn angry that it was filed away as an afterthought.

Allowing the girl to free herself from his grasp, eyes still locked on the blonde across the room, Jaune started to speak. "I don't know who you are." He began, pausing briefly until he was certain he had his enemy's full attention. "I don't know what you want, either." He took a single step forward, attempting to keep his mounting anger under control via his cold facade. "And, heck, for all I know you could even be the one in the right here." The boy admitted, even as he slammed the butt of his branch on the floor hard enough to crack it.

"But you know what? I don't even care!" He shouted, teeth gritting even as wind began to pick up around him. "You came in here, the single place that I've been able to go lately to enjoy myself, and for whatever reason you've torn the place apart! And, really, I don't even give a damn about that! I seriously don't!" This admission raised a few brows, but Jaune was far from finished. "But you know what else? You hurt people I actually liked! I know maybe four people in this city that haven't tried to kill me, and _two_ of them are _hurt_ because of you!" Melanie was walking with a pronounced limp and Miltiades was out cold in a pile of broken glass.

As a matter of fact, Junior was probably also injured in some way if he wasn't out here fighting, but that took backseat to the twins.

The blonde continued to regard him, now somewhat wary, as she allowed the teen to finish his rant, if only because of the novelty of the situation. She was clad in a tan vest with gold piping, worn over a low-cut yellow crop-top with some sort of symbol barely visible, resembling the tendrils of a flickering flame. The vest sleeves were puffy, ending in cuffs held with golden buttons just before her elbow. She wore a pair of black shorts, a belt with a pouch and square buckle, and a small banner looking thing. Her feet were covered in what seemed to be a sturdy pair of leather boots.

"So, really, I don't even give a shit if you're the wronged party." Jaune continued to rant, his volume remaining constant throughout even as he allowed himself to inspect the girl before him for any defining features. "All I know is that you hurt people I care about, so now I'm gonna do my best to make you _regret_ it!" As he finished this sentence, the icy-teen threw both of his hands forward and launched a blast of frigid air at the girl, his standard probing maneuver.

Seeing this as her cue to begin the fight once again, the blonde allowed herself a small smile before placing her hands behind her and using the force generated from her gauntlet's firing to propel her up and over the blast, righting herself in the air with one fist cocked back for another punch.

Jaune saw this, and quickly swung his stave towards her, loosing another blast of freezing wind towards her as she was in the air.

Unable to dodge this one, as she was much closer than before, the girl decided instead to just punch forward, firing a bright orange projectile that punched through the wind.

It impacted a solid wall of ice, which Jaune had erected the moment he saw her fist fly forward. The wall shook from the impact, cracking noticeably, but did not give.

Undeterred by this, the girl allowed herself to continue falling and landed atop the wall of ice, fist cocked back again to try and strike the teen generating the stuff.

A pillar of ice rose up from the ground below, rocketing towards the blonde faster than she could prepare for. Able to cross her arms before her to take the brunt of the hit, she was sent hurtling from the sudden impact and landed in a crouch just in front of the bar.

"Heh." She grinned widely, somewhat impressed by the newest entry to the fight. Rushing forward again, propelled by her gauntlets, she decided to just blast her way through the wall of ice rather than attempting to bypass it. Prepared for another attack like before, she was surprised to find herself unhindered all the way to the base of the wall.

Rather than wasting time thinking about it, the girl instead loosed a punch that caused the entire construct to shatter into pieces.

She spotted the creator of the icy barrier just behind it, though there was something unsettling about the fact that he was unconcerned with her breaking through his defense in a single punch.

Jaune's grin was positively devilish, something which he probably found himself copying off of Neo a part of him couldn't help but note, as he regarded the girl standing in the shattered remains of his wall.

He raised an open hand, quickly clenching it into a fist. The numerous shards of ice, ranging from the size of a pen to the size of a shortsword, rose back into action with this gesture, slamming into the blonde girl from all sides.

Having been entirely unprepared for this, it was a solid hit. The sound of ice shattering was like music to Jaune's ears as it was accompanied by sounds of pain from his opponent.

It sounded like a well made plan being fulfilled.

Of course, most plans did not survive first contact with the enemy. His was no exception.

The punch came faster than he could have anticipated, his vision suddenly being filled with yellow. Unable to stop it, Jaune was nailed squarely in the jaw and sent flying towards the small set of stairs that led to and from the dance floor.

Impacting them with a solid thunk, Jaune released a loud yell of his own from the sudden strike that had sent him flying. His face hurt, his back hurt, and his pride hurt.

She had gotten back up from that? That was the cleanest hit he had landed on anyone, ever! She had been in the middle of hundreds of shards of sharp ice, and most of them had struck her when he had sprung his trap. Aura or no, that should have hurt.

The girl was standing, fist still extended from her punch, with a cocky grin on her lips even as a pair of red eyes faded back to the lilac he had expected to see.

One word came to mind to explain this phenomenon: Semblance.

So she could power up from taking damage, then? Did it negate the damage entirely? No, she had clearly taken the hit. Even with Aura, some injuries were apparent.

"That all, tough guy?" The blonde taunted, leaning forward with that same cocky expression. "Guess I'm just too hot to handle for you, frosty." She brought one finger to her lips, briefly placing it in her mouth before pressing the digit to her hip and making a sound similar to that of steam.

Jaune snarled, finding himself more angry than he had been before, though a lot of it was directed at himself for letting her get the better of him. He knew well enough by this point that a contest of strength was out of the question; whatever her Semblance did, it clearly made her far more powerful than he was. It seemed to be activated by taking damage, otherwise she would be using it right now. Activation was signified by her eyes turning red.

Alright. So a direct fight was out of the question. She would just take his hit, get back up, and hit him harder.

With that in mind, Jaune stood. "No, we're not done yet." He replied, surprising the girl quite a bit simply from the fact that he got back up. "I guess I was stupid for thinking I got you with that." It wouldn't have finished Neo, of that much he was certain. So, then, why would he assume this girl would be taken down by it?

Normal people would've been out of the game long ago, so the only ones left right now were the extraordinary. This was the world he was gearing up to enter.

Jaune supposed that meant it was time for him to be extraordinary as well. It was either that or prove everyone right and head back home, wasn't it?

Eyes briefly flashing a pale blue, Jaune released a breath that froze the water molecules in the air before him, creating a brief trail of ice crystals that quickly disappeared. He tapped one foot on the ground, and ice began to spread from the point of contact, quickly expanding to cover the floor. He was glad that all of the goons had managed to pick themselves up off of the floor, retreating to safer ground, it freed him up quite a bit.

He was pissed off. It was very rare that something came along with the ability to bring Jaune Arc to legitimate anger, but seeing one of his favorite places and two of his favorite people in less than stellar condition was more than enough to get him there.

The girl was cautious of the spreading ice, wary eyes glancing around the frozen floor for any sign of attack. "Taking a girl to the ice-rink is usually less... violent." She quipped, lilac eyes shining with amusement even through the caution he could clearly see.

He wasn't in the mood for humor, though. She may think this was a joke, but for him it was deadly serious. Jaune's lips were set in a thin line as he decided to take a more offensive approach.

Setting both of his bare feet directly on the ice, Jaune launched towards the girl via focused blasts of wind from his heels, using the lack of friction in the ice to speed himself forward.

She reacted quickly, but not quickly enough to prevent herself from being struck at all.

Rather than a powerful strike, Jaune grabbed hold of her arm as she raised it for a punch. With another burst of wind from his feet, he found himself upside down, blue eyes meeting the lilac of his opponent for the briefest moment.

In a flash, the girl's entire arm was coated with a thick layer of ice that went up past her elbow.

Before she could retaliate, Jaune made himself scarce with another use of his Semblance, the frigid winds disorientating his foe briefly in addition to propelling him away.

Landing in a crouch, one hand steadying himself on the ground as he continued a controlled slide backwards, the teen generated a single long spike of ice and fired it towards the girl with his free hand.

With her arm encased in ice, which kept her from bending it properly to break the restraint with a punch, the blonde instead struck downward with her other arm to shatter the icicle spear fired at her. After neutralizing that threat, she retreated backwards towards a wall she could use to try and break the ice on her limb.

Jaune saw this, and did nothing to prevent her from freeing her arm. He had other plans, and distracting her with that would allow him to put them forth. Mumbling a quiet apology to Junior for what he was about to do, Jaune placed both hands on his staff and began to spin it over his head...

By the time the gauntlet-using brawler had freed her arm, the white-haired teen had managed to create a snowstorm.

"Oh wow. Looks like someone seriously needs to chill out." The girl quipped idly, arms held up defensively. All she saw in front of her was white, snowflakes being whipped around furiously in the wind.

This guy had seriously just made a blizzard. She didn't know how much concentration it took, or whether or not he had to continually maintain it... because she couldn't see more than five feet in front of her... but altogether, that was impressive. This was a legitimate snowstorm, the wind whipping her hair all over the place and the snow making it impossible to really see.

With that in mind, she decided to fire a few test shots to see if she could figure out a location.

The first shot hit something, a shattering noise echoing out. Ice, then. Walls? Had he just made more walls to try and mess with her in the limited visibility?

A second shot met similar results, the shattering of ice. Her suspicions increased a bit.

He had put her in a rather trying position. Without the ability to see, she didn't want to rush in and get skewered by a spike to her blindside... which in this case was every side.

But she also couldn't just sit here, or he would have her at his mercy.

The choice was taken out of her hands, though, as shards of pointy ice began raining from the ceiling towards her.

Dodging, weaving through upraised icy structures and spines on the floor, and attempting to keep from tripping on the now uneven and slick ground, she was having a hard time keeping from being hit by these things.

Jaune was able to tell her location, the whitewashed scene clear as day to him. He couldn't see her, per se, but the snow and wind allowed him to triangulate her position. He had a slight connection to it, enough to know where the hottest place within the blizzard he created was.

Obviously, it would be the warmblooded young girl who was frantically darting about. Her body was radiating more heat than anything in the vicinity, and he could track her based on where the snow was melting, on her skin and hair.

And luckily, she was allowing him to corral her. In her haste to avoid his attacks, she was walking into a trap.

Of course, it was entirely possible this one wouldn't work either, and it would let her know exactly where he was considering he would need to physically touch her to do anything.

If she could shake off the barrage he had hit her with earlier, Jaune really did not know what kind of firepower it would take to actually put her down. But maybe if he could restrain her in his ice... it would have to be full body restraint, for sure. He had to keep her from moving or breaking it.

Jeez, this was difficult. And risky.

But as the girl got closer and closer, his ranged attacks driving her to him steadily, he knew that it was his best option.

And so when she got within ten feet of him, Jaune rushed forward.

Her retaliatory punch came within inches of his face, and the force of it was enough that he was fairly sure the girl had managed to tap into her Semblance again, which made him question his earlier assumption about it being related to taking damage.

Undeterred, however, the white haired teen forcefully wrapped his arms around her shoulders, something which drew a startled gasp from the girl.

Before she could do anything more, Jaune put all of his effort towards encasing her in ice, using the multiple points of contact to try and spread it as fast as possible.

"Hey, what the heck are you doing!?" The girl shouted, unused to people actually trying to grapple her. Just as she was about to show him _why_ no one was dumb enough to do that, her eyes widened in surprise upon figuring out what his game was.

But it was too late, he had already trapped her torso in the icy prison and it was spreading outward from there. Within seconds, she was frozen from the neck down in a thick block of ice, arms trapped against her sides.

Jaune fell back, panting from with exertion. Could someone give themselves brain-freeze with their Semblance? Because that's what Jaune was feeling right now.

He had _never_ used so much of his power before. The blizzard had died down, leaving at least two inches of fresh snow on the still icy floor of Junior's club, several spikes and walls of ice sprouting from the ground. Large icicles hung from the ceiling, threatening to fall at any moment, and the crown jewel of this frozen wonderland was the curious looking blonde encased from the neck down in ice.

"So... that was pretty cool." The girl admitted. "I think I could _probably_ get out of this, but not before you could do something about it." She was kind of at his mercy right there, honestly. Her head was the only part of her not covered in ice, and breaking out of a full-body restraint like that would take time that she didn't have.

Despite the fact that Jaune was the one flat on his ass, he was in fact the victor of this little fight. It had certainly taken more out of him than it had the blonde, however, seeing as how she seemed only slightly winded.

"Just go away and don't come back." The white haired teen managed through his panting, turning his glare on the blonde. Seeing her about to reply, likely about how she couldn't leave while frozen stiff, he cut her off. "Don't say it. I'm still thinking of how to get you the hell out of here without letting you go... because frankly I want you to be stuck in there for a good, long while." He muttered spitefully.

"Ah. You're still angry then?" The girl asked, seemingly unconcerned with her predicament.

"Furious, actually." Jaune corrected, standing shakily, putting his weight on his stick in order to stay upright. "Not only did _you_ tear up the place I hang out, you also made _me_ tear it up to deal with you!" Seriously, most of the actual damage to the place was from her, but he'd frozen the entire club over basically. When that snow and ice melted it was going to flood the place something fierce.

"Fair enough." She replied evenly.

"Right, whatever." He mumbled, dusting some of the snow off of his pants with a sigh, taking another moment to pull himself back together. Looking over at the restrained girl, he frowned. The nice part of him was starting to tell him that leaving someone encased in a thick block of ice was an awful thing to do, no matter what they'd done to him. Leaving her somewhere random, completely helpless until she could free herself, was not in line with his morals.

Damn it. He sighed deeply, drawing her curiosity. "I'm probably going to regret this, but I'm just going to unfreeze you now. Please just leave and don't come back."

"... okay." The girl relented after a moment. "You beat me fair and square, blizzard boy. Got a name?"

He snorted. "I do, but you're not getting it. Feel free to keep up with the snow and ice nicknames, though; could always use more of those..." Jaune mumbled, cautiously stepping towards her. "So I can't, like, melt ice on command... I've gotta break it, but since it's mine I can do that without any problem. Don't freak out when I do this." Seeing that the girl had understood his warning, he slammed the butt of his staff into the ice at her chest level and it shattered harmlessly. He did the same with her legs.

After she was freed from the waist down and had full range of movement in her torso and upper arms, the girl gave a quizzical look to him. "You didn't get my arms." She pointed out.

"You can do that yourself, and this way if you tried anything I'd have a second or two to try and stop you." He explained dully. "I don't trust you at all right now, in case that wasn't obvious." Whether or not he actually _could_ stop her in just a second or two was up for debate, but it was still a plan.

Snorting in amusement, the girl turned on a heel and began to strut towards the exit, slamming her hands into one another to free them from the icy restraints. "No worries, snowball, I've got what I came here for. Thanks for the good time, though." She said, offering a flirtatious wink.

And with that, she was gone.

Leaving Jaune in the middle of his own winter wonderland inside of the devastated club.

"So much for _my_ plans for the night..."

* * *

After making sure Miltiades and Melanie were going to be alright, apologizing to Junior about the fact that he'd turned his club into an icy mess, and helping the two girls to their rooms to rest, Jaune had decided to just head back to his hotel room.

It was a small room, just large enough for the bed, table, and dresser really. A door off to the side led to a tiny bathroom, one which Jaune still felt rather iffy about using... but necessities were necessities.

The building was run-down; of that there was no question. The paint on the walls of his room was peeling, there were cracks in the ceiling, and the light switch didn't always work the first time he flipped it.

Despite all of this, it was his sanctuary in all of the craziness he'd run into. Within these four walls, at the very least Jaune could lock himself behind closed doors and sleep fairly soundly... not that he trusted that lock anyway. He always ended up barring it with a solid piece of ice, since the door opened inwards. If anyone was getting in, he would at least know by the sound of forced entry.

So, with all of this in mind, Jaune was just about to collapse face first onto the crappy bed of his crappy room in a crappy hotel and just sleep until he didn't feel like it anymore, ice bar firmly in front of the door in order to keep himself from being jumped in his sleep...

But then he felt a frighteningly familiar weight slip it's way onto his back, a pair of lithe arms slipping around his neck even as two legs wrapped around his waist, firmly attaching someone to his back.

Jaune froze, standing stock-still as though motion would set off the bomb that had been attached to his back. "Neo?" The white-haired teen practically squeaked, dreading the answer he was going to get.

A scroll thrust it's way into his face, making it even more obvious just who had infiltrated his room. _'_ _Hi Jaune.'_

"... Hi, Neo." Jaune sighed tiredly. "You startled me, you know."

The scroll was pulled back briefly, the sound of tapping indicating a response oncoming. ' _That was the point. I was bored.'_

Another sigh. "Of course you were."

 _'Oh, don't be like that. I have good news.'_

"News so good it couldn't wait until morning?" He asked. "Or did you just want to sneak into my room at night for fun?"

 _'Do you really need to ask that question?'_

"Point taken." The white haired teen admitted. "So. The news?" Jaune was honestly still really scared of Neo, despite the fact that she had been nothing but pleasant in her interactions with him since the end of their first meeting. This was the second time he had met her in person and the first thing the tri-colored girl had done was latch onto his back like she was one of his sisters asking for a piggyback ride.

Of course, she had also been incredibly chatty and bothersome for most of his interactions with her. But neither of these things alluded to her much more frightening nature.

However, Jaune knew. He had seen it in her eyes; this girl was a killer, and she wouldn't lose a wink of sleep if she had killed him that night on the roof. Probably still wouldn't, despite her rather affectionate display.

 _'News is that I'm done.'_ Not hearing any response from her most recent toy, the girl lightly tapped his head with her right hand even as her left typed out more on her scroll. _'_ _Hey, are you alive in there? Because if you're dead I'm not going to bury you.'_

Jaune was not, in fact, dead. Just surprised. "You said it'd be a few more days." He mumbled, confused. "What changed?"

 _'I was bored. Bored, bored, bored. So I just decided to dedicate most of my time outside of harassing you to those papers.'_ Jaune could feel the girl shrug against his back.

"Huh..." He muttered, shaking his head even as a small smile came to his lips. "Thanks, I guess, Neo." The admission that her time was divided between either tormenting him or helping him out left him torn, but it was kind of pleasant to know that she had put extra effort into it even if it was just out of her own boredom.

 _'You're welcome.'_

Jaune couldn't help but feel that even her writing came across with that same self-assured tone that her smile conveyed. Perhaps it was just because he'd gotten to know her a little, but he felt there was something uncanny about that.

Though, now Jaune was wondering about another important question that had come up. "Neo, why are you latched on to my back still?"

 _'You're comfortable.'_

Far from what he had been expecting, but hey. "Comfortable how?" He couldn't help but ask. The teen's breath hitched briefly as he felt the girl press herself closer to him, her cheek rubbing against his neck.

 _'Cold. It feels nice.'_

He sort of understood, now that she had made it blatantly obvious. His body temperature was lower than average, and anyone touching him would probably think he was uncomfortably cold, but it hadn't effected him much. And, for whatever reason, the girl attached quite firmly to his back apparently found that comfortable. "Do you seriously dislike warm weather that much?" Jaune asked, incredulous. The feeling of her smooth skin against his neck was both alluring and terrifying.

 _'This room doesn't have air conditioning. I've been here for a while. Shut up and let me enjoy this.'_

Jaune shut up. He didn't even know anymore.

Another sigh, but he wasn't just going to stand here all night. With that decided, the boy walked towards the bed and promptly flopped forwards onto it in a graceless heap.

The sudden movement made Neo react much like a startled cat, wide eyes looking over the change in position before sliding back down towards the half-lidded look she previously had.

Seeing the white haired teen passed out beneath her, clad in all but his armored plate, the girl shrugged before deciding to just use him as a mattress. The one he was lying on was probably filthy beyond repair anyway, making the rather broad back of the teen an ideal alternative.

Admittedly, his back wasn't so much _broad_ as it was that she was... petite enough to settle herself in.

Surprisingly comfortable, she couldn't help but note as she relaxed with her face pressed up against his back. It had been a long time since she had shared a bed with anyone in any fashion, let alone the sort of detached amusement she was regarding this situation with. Was this how one would sleep with a sibling, a platonic friend, or what? Neo didn't really think any of them fit this very well, but the thought amused her.

Idly poking the teen's head, drawing naught but a snore in response to her prodding, she quirked one delicate brow before mentally shrugging and just going along with it. She was comfortable, he was already asleep, and there really was no reason to expend effort making her way back to the safehouse when she had a perfectly hidden place to sleep right here.

Neo was glad she found Jaune, he brightened her days considerably by giving her an easy target to mess with.

Before allowing herself to fall asleep, she briefly wondered what kind of reaction he would have in the morning.

The thought put a devilish grin on her lips as she drifted off to sleep.

* * *

AN:

And there you have it. The decision I've spoke of up top was Jaune being able to beat Yang during her little incident in the club.

I, personally, have always found it kind of funny how Yang basically busted into someone's place of business, held them hostage for information, and then proceeded to pretend to play nice only to sucker-punch the owner of the establishment and then trash the whole place. Like... what?

Seriously, does anyone else feel like that whole incident was ridiculous? Like, from the standpoint of "right vs wrong" she would totally be in the wrong there. Not only did she assault somebody for information, she caused a shit-ton of property damage. Yeah, fighting the goons attacking her as well as Melanie and Miltia is acceptable as self-defense, but it wouldn't have been necessary if she hadn't started the fight in the first place.

In the show, no one gives a damn about it though. They don't work there, they don't know those people, they don't have to think about it.

However, seeing as how a certain Arc has friends in that club, friends who were injured severely by one of his future classmates...

Well, it'll be interesting to say the least.


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I don't own RWBY.

Also to the guy who wanted us to get to Beacon soon; it's funny you mention that... lol.

* * *

Airships were a great advancement in technology, allowing quick travel from place to place. Flying allowed one to make much better time than otherwise, it often proved safer due to the relative scarcity of airborne Grimm, and airships provided very large amounts of space for passengers.

Altogether, it was probably one of the single largest innovations of mankind.

Jaune Arc understood this. He accepted the usefulness and popularity of air-travel.

It didn't mean that he had to like it.

"Urgh..." He groaned pitifully, having chanced a look towards the cityscape down below... bad idea, that.

He had woken up today excited as could be, taking everything he could into account. That included his horrible motion sickness.

Knowing that Beacon was on a cliff above Vale, it was rather obvious how the students would be arriving. With that in mind, Jaune didn't eat breakfast, instead keeping a Pumpkin Pete's cereal bar in his hoodie's pocket.

Never before had the teen been so grateful for his foresight and planning. While his stomach was positively tying itself in knots due to his unfortunate condition, the white haired Arc was at least glad to say he had nothing in his stomach to vomit. It would suck to cheat his way into Beacon only to be stuck with a name like Vomit-Boy until the end of time.

Granted, the fact that he was seated in a corner in the room closest to the exit with his hood pulled over his face didn't make things much better reputation-wise.

But he could deal with that.

Honestly, not even this could get him down. He was still incredibly happy to be going to Beacon, even if his means of entry to the prestigious academy were less than legal. Looking back on it, he didn't even really regret doing it either since it had been the whole reason he was able to meet Melanie, Miltia, and even Junior to some extent. He went from having no friends to three, so that was something.

Jaune still didn't know if he could consider Neo a friend or not. She was an oddball no matter how he looked at it. The first night he had met her, she tried to kill him. Came very close, as a matter of fact.

After that, she had agreed to forge his transcripts at what he had later been informed was a massively discounted price. Asking Junior about the usual cost of her services had put it into proportion just how much of a deal she had given him, unless her favor ended up being something worth the remainder of that price... in which case it would probably be stupidly dangerous and Jaune doubted he would survive the experience.

And then there was her undeniably clingy behavior. She still bombarded him with random inquiries, though they had slowed somewhat as she miraculously agreed not to blow up his scroll during school hours. And whenever he actually met the girl face to face, she would usually find herself a seat on his shoulders or latch onto his back, not to mention that she occasionally shared a bed with him.

It was weird, since Jaune highly doubted there was any romantic intent. She just seemed to like physical contact. It would be great if he didn't still have nightmares about her trying to murder him.

Though, thankfully, _those_ had been getting more and more scarce as he interacted with her more. She was desensitizing him to that aspect of her personality, he figured... that was actually kind of disturbing to consider.

His thoughts were interrupted by yet another bout of nausea washing over him, which he attempted to force down. After dealing with this issue for most of his life, Jaune was a bit more tolerant of it than otherwise. He let a ragged sigh slip, shaking his head slightly. Stomach calming somewhat, Jaune slipped to his feet almost cautiously before just leaning back against the wall.

He needed a distraction. What was going on nearby?

A news report... well, Jaune wasn't much for the news, but it was something he could look at to distract himself.

And as it turned out, he saw a familiar face. Roman Torchwick, a notorious criminal who had been on a crime spree robbing every dust store he could find as of late.

Huh. So that's where he had seen the guy before. Well that was coincidental. And this was Neo's partner in crime? 'Sheesh...' Jaune thought to himself idly, inspecting the mugshot of the redheaded man. 'The people I've managed to meet lately, I swear...'

Thus far all of his associates were, in some way, connected with the criminal underbelly of Vale. Junior was one of the most reliable sources of information in the city and had his hands in many illegal dealings, Melanie and Miltiades were enforcers of his, along with Neo and Roman being a pair of career criminals, one a forge and the other a thief.

The thought almost made him laugh, he would have if not for the fear that it would upset his stomach more. Wasn't he supposed to be a _good guy_?

Instead, he continued to watch the news report from his isolated position, trying his best to remain inconspicuous and not draw anyone's attention. He didn't want to start up a conversation in the state he was in, for obvious reasons.

Faunus rights rally, White Fang interference. Unfortunate, but not unexpected. The White Fang was an organization that even he knew about despite his rather isolated nature.

They had started off as a peaceful protest group, fighting the inequality of their people through nonviolent means. They were determined to finally gain the equality that their people deserved.

But it never really worked, not enough to make a difference. The Faunus were still treated poorly, no matter how many boycotts and rallies they had, and eventually it had drawn the organization to a darker path.

Now, they were closer to terrorists than anything. Murders, vandalism, arson, kidnapping, nothing seemed to be too far for them anymore.

It was sad, honestly, because in a way Jaune understood. They had tried to do things the right way, the moral way... and it hadn't gotten them anywhere. And so instead of persisting with that path forever and accomplishing nothing, they switched methods. Violence and fear made for effective motivators.

The saddest part was that it worked, in a twisted sort of way. No one gave a damn if some Faunus wouldn't buy their wares or dine at their restaurants, but when the stores and the restaurants themselves were at risk things changed.

Anywhere that refused Faunus was hit, some harder than others. It became a matter of _profit_ , they lost more by refusing the Faunus than they did by accepting them.

'What a world we live in...' Jaune thought to himself, clutching his stomach painfully even as a grimace crossed his features. 'If we could all just throw away these stupid prejudices I can't imagine how much more progress we could have made as a civilization.' Jaune just didn't understand it, himself. People were people no matter how you looked at it.

The screen cut out, replaced by a holographic image of a woman. Jaune blinked, focusing again.

She was a blonde woman with a very stern look to her, the piercing expression on her face making it obvious that she was very much a business before pleasure kind of person. She was garbed in a white long-sleeved suit that exposed part of her chest, something that Jaune felt himself appreciating even through his nausea, and puffy sleeves that got tighter near the wrist before spreading back out near her hands. Her lower body was clad a black business skirt with buttons running in a vertical line up the front of it and lighter black-brown stockings.

After a moment, the woman introduced herself as Glynda Goodwitch. He vaguely recalled the name from Neo, who had briefly mentioned her as a very dangerous huntress and someone he should be wary of in school.

His transcripts were good enough to fool the faculty of Beacon, but he _had_ to live up to them. If she felt like he wasn't as good as Neo had made him seem to be, things would become difficult.

With that in mind, he tuned out the rest of her little speech and sighed, covering his face with his palm. When would they be landing? He really did not know how much more of this torture he could handle. Jaune had been purposefully isolating himself, even going so far as to ignore the few random students who had come to chat with him. He didn't feel confident enough to speak without dry-heaving.

Finally, miraculously, the ship stopped moving. Feeling the discomfort in his stomach fade slightly from the lack of forward motion, the teen quickly made his way to the clearly marked exits.

He was, unsurprisingly, the first to exit the airship. Moving at a very brisk pace, Jaune found himself off of the airship and on solid ground for the first time in what seemed like hours but was really only like twenty minutes or something similar.

It didn't matter, though, because he was finally on land. Sweet, sweet earth. He felt better already, deeply breathing in the fresh air even as he continued to walk off to the side of the plaza, intending to catch his breath and enjoy his cereal bar.

The teen found himself a nice space beneath one of the impressive looking pillars that lined the walkway, noting vaguely that others had begun to trickle out of the ships but paying them no mind.

Seating himself happily with his back to the tall pillar, the teen pulled out his cereal bar and unwrapped it before taking a bite. 'Ah, the sweet taste of artificial flavoring and sugar. Lots and lots of sugar.' Jaune chuckled to himself, keeping from scarfing the bar down by just eating small bites of it, intending to make the small snack last a bit longer. Indulging in sweets always made the after-feeling of motion sickness better, now that he could actually stomach them.

Jaune smiled to himself contentedly, sighing softly even as he settled the cereal bar on one of his legs, fishing his scroll from his jeans pocket for just long enough to type a brief message to Neo. ' _Made it in one piece.'_ He placed the scroll on his other leg, picking up the bar again and taking another bite of it just as a small blip alerted him to the reply.

 _'Good. If you managed to die or get thrown out on the ship it would have been rather embarrassing.'_ Came the scathing response he had expected. Rolling his eyes, the teen typed up his own reply as he munched on his sugary treat.

 _'Love you too, dear.'_

By this point, he had honestly become desensitized to Neo and her shenanigans. It was way easier on his sanity to just play along with her, and the girl herself didn't seem to mind it. Initially he had been scared she would take offense and murder him or something, but the girl seemed unflappable.

Case in point?

The final response from his ice cream loving associate was a picture of her blowing a kiss towards the scroll, something which got a snort of laughter from him.

She looked cute like that, he would admit. Like she _wasn't_ all of the world's evil in one pretty little package.

He felt like today was going to be a good day. He had made it at long last! Jaune Arc was ready to take the first steps towards the dream he had harbored all of his life. In these hallowed halls, he would learn to become more than just another Huntsman; he would be one of the greats. Perhaps not the absolute best in the world, he wasn't arrogant enough to expect that much, but most certainly up there with the legends everyone knew by name. One day, he would be something special. He just knew it, today felt like a wonderful day to be alive!

... and then he heard the explosion.

The sudden noise had thoroughly surprised Jaune, which led to now. He was currently choking on the last bit of his cereal bar, hacking frantically as he attempted to get his breathing back under control.

Managing to do so after a few moments, the wide eyed teen breathed deeply. "Okay. That was unexpected." He mumbled to himself dully, as though trying to make sure his voice still worked. Standing from his position, idly shoving the wrapper of the cereal bar into his pocket so as not to be a litter bug, the white haired teen glanced around to try and find the source of the explosion.

Instead of seeing bombs dropping, Grimm running amok, White Fang members with rocket launchers, giant robots, or any other sort of ridiculous assailants... he saw a girl.

She was small, clearly younger than the usual students of the academy. She was probably around Neo's height, garbed in an outfit that was quite eye catching. The girl was clad in a black blouse, a black waist cincher with red lacing and a skirt with red trimmings, complete with a red cloak held to her blouse by a pair of silver crosses.

And she looked positively miserable.

Gah, damn him and his good nature. Seeing a young girl on the verge of tears was not fair. It just wasn't. There was no force in this world with as great a sway over him as a damsel in distress, especially a girl who looked to be younger than him. Just looking at that almost physically _hurt_ him.

Sighing lightly, he threw on a warm smile and made his way over to the girl with long, confident strides.

Just as she looked up, noticing the shadow above her, Jaune held out a hand and widened his smile. "Hey. I'm Jaune."

The girl looked up at him with the single most innocent pair of eyes he had ever seen, a vivid silver color that put shame to the finest jewelry he had ever laid eyes on. "Ruby..." She mumbled, accepting his hand with a small, embarrassed smile. "Uh... are you that Weiss girl's brother?" She asked cautiously.

Jaune blinked. "I've got seven sisters, but none of them are named Weiss. Why?" That was a rather odd question to ask.

"Because you both look alike." Ruby answered, relieved by his admission. "She's got the same hair color as you, but her eyes are less... blue." Much less blue. Her eyes were sort of pale, icy blue whereas Jaune... well, his were deep blue like the ocean. "And she's less nice." Way less nice.

The white haired Arc gave a raised brow, before shrugging after pulling the girl to her feet. "Well I like to think I'm pretty nice."

"Good. Because I've already had someone blow up at me today... after I blew up myself."

"Oh. That was you? I thought there was something crazy going on, like giant robots or exploding Grimm or something."

"No, no... just ah... making friends?"

* * *

Several minutes later, Jaune and Ruby were walking along the pathway discussing various things.

Namely, motion sickness and Jaune's proneness to it. "Look, I'm just saying it's a way bigger issue than you're making it out to be." He repeated, perfectly serious. "I've dealt with this crap for my entire life. In a world dominated by air travel can you imagine how annoying it is to get severe nausea whenever you fly on one of those metal monstrosities?"

Ruby cringed, seeing the point. "Yeah, I kind of get it." At first it had seemed kind of silly, being sick from just getting on an airship, but putting it like that made it seem like a real issue. How did he even get anywhere if he could barely stomach flying? Oh man that was going to make air-drops horrible for him too, wasn't it? Ouch.

Jaune sighed. "Yeah, yeah. Sorry for harping on about it, but I get a lot of crap for my motion-sickness from people who know." Why the hell had he told Neo that again? "So it's kind of become a point of mine to make people realize that it genuinely sucks." No, seriously, what had even tempted him to let _Neo_ of all people in on that?

After that, things descended into a comfortable silence. Or at least it was comfortable for Jaune. Ruby seemed somewhat... anxious. Jaune figured that she wasn't the best with silence.

"So..." She started suddenly, reaching behind her back to grab the red weapon he had seen at her back. "I got this!" The girl swiftly pulled the weapon from her back.

At first glance, he had thought it was a rifle. It looked rather blocky and bulky, so he expected some kind of high powered gun maybe... or a grenade launcher or something.

Yeah no it was a freaking scythe. "Whoa!" He started, backing away from the rather surprising action. "Uh, is that a scythe?" Wow, that was super neat. It like... unfolded. Into a scythe.

"It's also a customizable, high impact sniper rifle." She replied proudly.

"... it's also a gun?" He asked quietly, some small part of him explaining that he really should have expected this.

"It's also a gun." Ruby reaffirmed happily. After basking in the glow of someone sufficiently awed by her baby, the girl turned her attention towards Jaune. "What kind of weapon do you have?" Just the thought of what her new friend could have with him had her excited beyond measure.

And then he smiled widely and held out the stick he had been carrying. "I have this."

"... That's a stick." Ruby noted blandly.

"Yes. Yes it is." Jaune replied, equally proud of his "weapon" as Ruby had been of her own.

"... your weapon is a stick." Ruby couldn't seem to wrap her head around the concept.

Another proud nod. "Indeed it is." Jaune could have told her the story behind his weapon of choice, or why it was a practical weapon in general due to his Semblance... but this was way more fun.

... Oh Dust he was starting to feel like Neo.

Ruby blinked, before nodding slowly, giving him a look as though he had a few screws loose before she noticed something. "Uh... Jaune?"

"Yes, Ruby?" Came the reply.

"Where are we even going?"

"... I was following you." Jaune explained, blinking. "Uh... you think there'd be any directories around here?" She gave him a deadpan look. "A food court?" Still the deadpan. "... Easily recognizable landmarks?" He tried again.

"... No, I don't think so." Ruby finally admitted with a giggle.

Jaune sighed. "Of course not."

"Why hello there students!" A voice suddenly called, startling the pair. As they turned to regard the owner of the voice, they... didn't see anything but a cloud of dust? Not Dust, no... just dust. Like regular dust.

"Would the two of you perhaps happen to be lost? It seems so due to the fact that you are all the way out here when the ceremony is taking place in the main hall." The duo startled again, turning quickly to come face to face with a green haired man with a wide smile on his lips and a thermos in hand, a pair of spectacles settled haphazardly upon his nose and a rather disheveled appearance. His white shirt was untucked from his dark green pants, collar raised, and a yellow tie hung loosely around his neck.

Perhaps the most noticeable thing about the man was that he was talking at an extremely high speed. They almost couldn't understand him. Almost.

"Uh..." Jaune spoke first, Ruby still too petrified by the idea of social interaction it seemed. "Yeah, we're sort of lost... you said the main hall?"

"Capital!" The man spoke, raising one hand and a single finger. "Peter and I had both been asked to round up any students who had lost their ways on our grounds in order to keep them from missing the ceremony, and thankfully it would appear that our efforts were both necessary and appreciated! Moreover, this means that I have likely pulled ahead of my colleague in our competition." Seeing the confused looks on the faces of the two children before him, the man chuckled before taking a swig of his thermos. "Come along now, we must get you back on the proper path in order to keep to the schedule that has been set."

Blue eyes wide in confusion, seeing as how the man had said most of that in a single breath and within the span of a few seconds, Jaune nodded slowly while Ruby found herself hiding somewhat behind him. "Uh... huh... so... the ceremony?"

"Yes, yes, that's correct! We need to send you off on your way do we not? Ah, that way, just follow the path and it will take you directly to the room in which the ceremony is being held!" He pointed off towards the exact opposite direction of the path they had been on. "Simply follow the road and it will take you to your destination. Ah, by the way, I am Dr. Bartholomew Oobleck. Please refer to me as Dr. Oobleck, and have a pleasant day!"

And with that, he was gone in another cloud of dust.

The two teens blinked, Ruby peering out from behind Jaune as though she were terrified he would return. "Uh... that was one of the professors?" She squeaked, marveling at the speed the man had done... well, everything.

"... right." Jaune chuckled nervously, impressed by the rather timely intervention from the almost comically fast man. The only thing keeping it from being funny was that the man was one of the professors at the school, and with speed like that... well, where did everyone else compare on that scale? It was rather intimidating to think about. "So, off to the ceremony." He announced, promptly turning on a heel and beginning to walk that direction, leaving the bizarre yet helpful meeting behind.

"Wait for me!" Ruby yelped, following after him. "You're not gonna ditch me like Yang did, Jaune!"

"Who's Yang?" The white haired Arc asked, turning to regard the younger girl briefly.

Ruby, catching up immediately, fell into a more reserved walk at his side. "She's my sister. Older sister, the one who was actually supposed to go to Beacon this year."

Jaune quirked a brow at that. "What do you mean by that?" If anyone wasn't supposed to be here, it'd be him, though he'd be keeping _that_ little secret to himself.

"I'm saying that Yang was actually a graduate of Signal, and she's the same age as everyone at Beacon... and I'm not." She blushed at the scrutiny this drew, quickly explaining. "I was allowed in on special circumstances, after I ended up stopping some Torchwick guy from robbing a dust store."

Eyes widening, he couldn't hide how impressive that was. "Roman Torchwick? The criminal swiping all of that dust?" Neo's partner? If that guy was in the same league as Neo, or even close, then it meant he was tough as nails. And some fifteen year old girl had managed to stop him? "How did that go down?" Was she some kind of prodigy?

Blushing deeper at the sudden interest, Ruby attempted to summarize so she could draw the topic away from her exploits. "Uh, I was shopping one night and some guy tried to rob me... so I kicked him into a wall. And then there were more of them, so I beat them up too." She frowned. "And then the guy with the cigar, Torchwick or something, he shot at me with a Dust round from his cane. I dodged it and he ran off, so I followed." The frown deepened somewhat as she recalled the specifics of that night. "He had a Bullhead, and he managed to get on it and throw a red Dust crystal at me, then he shot it... and Ms. Goodwitch saved me. From there, Torchwick and someone else managed to fly away."

"Wow." Jaune replied. "That's really quite the story. I'm glad you're okay." Roman was a dangerous man. Just the fact that he associated with Neopolitan meant he was every bit as much a killer as that girl, which meant he really may have hurt or killed Ruby even if she was a child. It was lucky that Glynda Goodwitch had arrived to help, or that could have ended poorly.

She pressed her fingers together, embarrassed at the sudden concern. "It's fine, really. I got out of it okay." It was nice to know people cared, though.

Jaune chuckled. "If you say so. But yeah, I had a really weird situation too recently." The curious silver eyes that peered at him were almost unfairly adorable. Even having built resistance over the years to cute, living with his seven sisters, Ruby was too damn good at it. "See, I was heading to my favorite hang-out to talk to a couple of my friends back in the city."

"Uh huh." Ruby nodded, paying rapt attention to the story as they walked. It was actually sort of unnerving just how intent she was.

Rubbing the top of his head, Jaune sighed. "Well, I got there and for whatever reason the place was near deserted from the outside. Usually people loiter around, but that night they were gone. So I went to go in, and I didn't hear any music. Those friends of mine work at a night club, and there's pretty much always music playing. I got really suspicious and ran in, and saw one of my friends fighting some girl and the whole club destroyed."

Unseen by him, Ruby's face paled slightly even as her eyes widened a bit. "Uh..."

Jaune was too occupied with his story to really notice. "So I see this blonde girl shove her elbow into Melanie's gut, Melanie being one of the friends I mentioned, and she's clearly stunned by it. She was wobbling from just that hit, so the girl was totally a powerhouse. Those gauntlets of hers didn't help either, though... but anyway, I managed to keep her from knocking Melanie's block off, and then I ended up taking over the fight."

Ruby was now quite uncomfortable with this story, knowing full well where she had heard it before. Her sister had vaguely mentioned some white haired boy with ice powers after she had found her outside of that club in the middle of the night, and she had clearly come from a fight judging by the bruises on her arms and legs. Yang hadn't given her the full details, but Jaune was filling them in quite nicely.

"Man, that girl was crazy though..." He muttered in irritation. "I managed to trap her, I got her so _good_ too... but she just shrugged it off! Her eyes go all red and next thing I know the back of my head is getting to know the concrete stairs on the other side of the room."

Ruby winced, both from the further confirmation that her first friend from Beacon and her sister had gotten into a fight and in sympathy for having taken a Semblance powered punch from Yang. However, she didn't interrupt Jaune, partially because she wanted to hear the rest of the story Yang hadn't told, and partially because she was kind of scared to bring up the fact that her sister was the one who had smashed his favorite place to hang out.

Jaune sighed. "So long story short; I got back up, and boy was I mad. I don't think I'd ever been that angry before, honestly." No one had ever screwed with his family to the degree that blonde had messed with his friends, so Jaune never had reason to get all that angry. Why would he? People could mess with him all they wanted, he didn't give a damn about that. Family, though? Oh that was not a good idea. And once he actually made friends it just extended over to them.

But back on topic. "I went all out. I pulled out every stop I could, I tore the club apart about as bad as she did by the time we were done. God, I feel bad about that... but anyway. I managed to win, I guess... took everything I had to even keep her restrained, and she was barely even winded by the time we were done! I'm just glad she actually kept her promise and left, I don't think I could have kept that fight up." No, no way he could have. He was on empty there. He'd blown his wad entirely on the high powered windstorm, snow generation, ice shards, ice walls and spikes, and so on.

Jaune had turned the club into a friggin' snowfield fraught with obstacles of the dangerous sort, all just to corral the girl in long enough to try and freeze her.

As the duo entered the main hallway, Ruby continued to listen to his story, though she had begun to glance around worriedly. "W-well Jaune it's been really nice meeting you, but I've gotta go find my sister now so... EEK!"

"Whoa, Ruby what's wrong?" Jaune heard the squeak at the end of her statement and turned, having intended to let her go find her sister without any fuss until he became concerned by her sudden exclamation.

Suddenly an arm was thrown over his shoulder, an action he noted had been performed on Ruby as well as the girl was giving frantic glances towards the offender.

"Y-Yang!" Ruby hissed through clenched teeth, wide eyes shooting frightened glances towards the white haired teen. She knew full well that Yang recognized him, there was no way she wouldn't! How could she not recognize the guy with solid white hair and a freaking stick in the middle of a room filled with high tech weaponry?

The teen in question was confused, though. What was wrong with Ruby... wait. The girl looked kind of familiar.

This was her sister, right? Yang. So that's who she was. A blonde girl with lilac eyes, a rather full figure, and an aura about her that positively radiated confidence. Seemed like an alright person with one single exception.

He recognized her.

"Heya little sis!" A cheerful and eerily familiar voice came from the blonde girl, who began squeezing the younger girl tightly into her side in a gesture of affection. "Oh and hey there snowball. Been a while, hasn't it?"

Jaune twitched. He actually twitched, clenching his hands harshly even as the temperature around the three of them began to drop rapidly, something both of the girls noticed and only one of them was freaking out over.

He said nothing for a moment, before reaching up and peeling the girl's arm from his shoulders. Turning to regard her fully, he confirmed that it was in fact the same girl who had torn up The Club and injured Melanie, Miltia, and Junior as well as several of Junior's men.

Seeing the frightened and sad face of Ruby, from her position under the confident blonde's arm, Jaune released a sigh that froze the moisture in the air in front of him, eyes briefly flashing a pale blue.

"... I don't like you." He noted calmly, eyeing the blonde with an expression of cold neutrality. "But your sister has been nothing but pleasant and I'm not going to lose a friend over a grudge with someone else." Another sigh, much deeper this time, though without the freezing effects as the air lightened up and warmed back to room temperature, assorted other students noticing the small altercation. "So... for the time being, I'm going to refrain from giving you a bad case of frostbite. But remember that you're the reason _two_ of my friends were bedridden for days."

Yang winced slightly at the chilly tone, having sort of expected the cold shoulder. But apparently Ruby had managed to warm up the ice-prince's heart a bit, because that was significantly more pleasant than she had expected when she had begun to antagonize the teen. Saying nothing, she unraveled herself from Ruby and walked off.

Ruby looked between the two of them, expression making it clear she was torn, but a glance at her new friend made it quite clear where they stood.

His icy demeanor had melted away into the same fond smile he'd been wearing during their entire talk, and he nodded for her to go to her sister.

Honestly, Ruby was incredibly relieved that her first friend from Beacon was still so nice to her even after the issues he had with her sister. Mouthing a quick 'talk to you later!', which was met with a chuckle and a thumbs up, the girl darted off after her sister.

As she left, Jaune sighed again, slumping down slightly. "Great, where am I supposed to find a nice, quirky girl to talk with now?"

* * *

"Soooo..." Yang began, looking over towards her younger sister as the two of them stood waiting for the Headmaster's speech. "How's your first day at Beacon going Ruby?"

The silver eyed teen gave her elder sister a glare. "You mean since you ditched me and I exploded?" That was not how Ruby Rose had expected her first day at school to go, no sir. Who got caught in the center of an explosion before even getting into the combat aspects of the school?

Apparently her.

Yang gave her a worried look. "Yikes, meltdown already?" She asked, feeling bad for leaving the girl alone. The blonde had expected it to make her a new friend or two, and as it turned out ditching her had done exactly that. Yang just never would have expected the walking popsicle to be her first friend, especially since she had never expected to see him at Beacon of all places. Man, that was gonna be fun later.

Ruby gave the older girl a deadpan. "No, I mean I literally exploded a hole in front of the school." She griped, waving one arm at her sister. "And there was some fire, and... and I think some ice?" That entire spectacle had been rather... violent. She was actually sure there was some electricity crackling in that explosion as well.

"... are you being sarcastic?" Yang asked, amused by the rather petulant response from her sister. Ruby tried to seem mature at times, but she really was such a kid at others.

"Tch, I wish!" The red-clad girl replied glumly. "I tripped over some crabby girl's luggage, and then she yelled at me. And then I sneezed. And then I _exploded._ " Ruby emphasized this part with a particularly spiteful look. "And then she yelled again, and I felt really, really bad and I just wanted her to stop yelling at me!" As the girl made her explanation, complete with hand gestures and vivid facial expressions galore, someone behind her seemed to finally take notice.

"You!" An angry voice called out from behind the young girl.

"Oh God it's happening again!" Ruby yelped, practically blurring into her sister's arms.

Holding her little sister bridal style with an uncomfortable look on her face, Yang proceeded to watch the white haired girl stomp over and begin berating Ruby.

"You're lucky we didn't get blown off of the cliff!" She yelled for the whole room to hear, clearly irritated by the event.

"... Oh my God you really did explode." Yang deadpanned towards her little sister, who looked back with a quivering lip and mortified expression.

"It was an accident!" She mumbled guiltily, quickly removing herself from the older girl's arms and turning to regard the white haired girl who reminded her of a really mean really angry Jaune. "It was an accident!" Ruby assured the girl, hoping that her tone and expression conveyed the apology as much as she felt it.

And suddenly there was a pamphlet in her face. "What's this?" The girl asked, surprised at the random appearance of the pamphlet. It was titled "Dust for Dummies and other Inadequate Individuals", with the image of a rather baffled looking caricature of a man on it staring at what was clearly a dust crystal, a pair of question marks off to the side of his head reinforcing the image of cluelessness.

"The Schnee Dust Company is not responsible for any injuries or damages sustained while operating a Schnee Dust Company Product." Giving a dull, bored look as though she had recited this particular speech hundreds of times before was the white haired girl known as Weiss Schnee, heiress to the Schnee Dust Company. "Although not mandatory, the Schnee family highly encourages their customers to read and familiarize themselves with this easy to follow guide to Dust application and practice in the field." She finished her speech with a deadpan look leveled on the girl who was currently staring, just as bewildered as the caricature on the packet, at the cover of said pamphlet.

Ruby stared. "Uhm..." She mumbled, glancing nervously towards the girl who had just rattled off the entire disclaimer for a product off the top of her head like it was a normal thing.

"You really want to start making things up to me?" Weiss asked blandly, pushing the pamphlet towards the girl.

"... Absolutely?" The scythe-wielding girl was honestly questioning it at this point...

"Then read this and don't ever speak with me again." The Schnee heiress announced, pressing the packet into the smaller girl's hands as though wiping her own hands of the matter entirely.

And this was where Yang cut in. Rubbing the back of her head at the rather tense atmosphere, she spoke to try and salvage the situation. "Look, uh, it sounds like you two just got off on the wrong foot." Understatement, that, but this white-haired girl seemed to only have wrong feet... but still. "Why don't you start over and try to be friends?" Or act like a total ass and give her a good reason to wipe that holier than thou look off of that pretty little face... either one.

Ruby, the ever optimistic and lovable thing that she was, was all for the idea. "Good idea, sis!" She praised, turning to the other girl as though they had only just met, even going so far as to extend her hand to shake. "Hello, Weiss. I'm Ruby. Wanna hang out? We could go shopping for school supplies." Or any number of things, but Weiss seemed like the kind of girl who would appreciate a practical outing over just blowing time.

All of a sudden, the cold expression on Weiss' face was gone. "Yeah!" She replied, raising her hands in excitement briefly before lowering them. "And we can paint our nails," The girl showed off her nails, still smiling brightly, before one hand found it's way to her hip. "And try on clothes, and talk about cute boys like..." She paused, glancing about until her gaze landed on one particular young man. "Tall, bright and scraggly over there." One thumb was directing attention towards the white haired Arc, who had arrived after hearing the commotion.

Said teen quirked a brow, wondering just what kind of conversation he had walked into and whether or not he should be insulted by the obviously fake enthusiasm directed towards his appearance.

Ruby, however... well, optimistic was pretty much her defining personality trait. "Wow," She said, moving closer to the girl hopefully, amazed that she had made another friend so easily. It was just too good to be true! "Really?" The girl couldn't help but ask, wide silver eyes beseeching the girl to say yes.

The smile disappeared, replaced immediately by a frown. "No."

At being shot down so horribly, Ruby hung her head in sadness, something which drew Jaune's ire quite a bit.

This was the girl Ruby had thought was his sister? That was some kind of joke. No sister of his would be so... mean.

He was torn between going over to comfort the girl, who looked so much like a kicked puppy that it almost physically pained him, and tearing a strip out of the Schnee girl for putting one of his friends in such a state in the first place.

The decision was taken from him by the sound of a microphone being tested and a gentle clearing of someone's throat, which drew attention to the arrival of the Headmaster of Beacon Academy.

Headmaster Ozpin was a tall man with grey hair and small, dark spectacles, though he truly didn't seem old enough for a solid head of that color. His outfit mainly consisted of an unzipped black suit over a buttoned vest and green undershirt, in addition to black dress shoes and long, dark-green pants.

Behind the shades one could see a pair of thin brown eyes, currently narrowed as he began to deliver his speech to the students gathered before him. "I'll... keep this brief." He announced, voice monotone as he pushed the spectacles up slightly on his nose. "You've traveled here today in search of knowledge, to hone your craft and acquire new skills." A brief pause, lasting just a moment, and then he spoke again. "And when you finish, you plan to dedicate your lives to the protection of the people."

How the headmaster of a school managed to make such a dedication seem so trivial was beyond Jaune, who's entire purpose for being a Hunter was centered around the protection of everyone.

"But I look among you, and all I see is wasted energy, in need of direction." The harsh words were delivered with the same tone of a man who was commenting on the weather, as opposed to the headmaster of the very academy they had all decided to attend. His statement drew uncomfortable fidgeting from many of the students gathered, irritated looks from others, and some self-conscious students even went so far as to divert their gaze from the seemingly judgmental stare radiating behind those dark glasses. "You assume knowledge will free you of this, but your time at this school will show you that knowledge can only carry you so far." Expression unchanging, the man leaned forward ever so slightly, a motion so small most would miss it. "It is up to you to take the first step."

And with that, the Headmaster promptly turned and proceeded to walk away from the microphone, allowing the blonde woman who had been standing at his side to approach.

"You will gather in the ballroom tonight." Her soft voice echoed through the room, carrying a comforting contrast to the Headmaster's parting words. "Tomorrow, your initiation begins." She paused for just a moment, leveling a serious look at towards the assembled students. "Be ready." She warned them, before nodding slightly. "You are dismissed."

With that announcement, the tense atmosphere broke somewhat and students began shuffling about, the assembly quickly falling to ruin as everyone began to go off in their own direction to try and familiarize themselves with the school they would be attending.

Shrugging, Jaune walked his way towards the three girls who had been conversing before the speech. The Headmaster's words seemed to have snapped Ruby out of her funk, though now she looked contemplative.

Yang spoke up first. "He seemed kind of... off." She noted, not rising to the sudden arrival of the white haired Arc.

In response, Ruby finished her thought. "It was almost like he wasn't even there."

Ignoring the rather deep and thoughtful nature of the conversation he was stepping into, Jaune felt the need to poke at the girl who had been making fun of him. "My hair's naturally white, y'know."

This drew incredulous gazes from all three girls, though Yang's was laced with amusement as opposed to the irritation on the face of the Schnee heiress and Ruby just seemed to wonder where the relevance to that was.

Jaune shrugged, giving them all a smirk. "Too tense. Needed to lighten the mood." Also he seemed to bother the Schnee girl just by being around, so that was a plus.

* * *

Later that night, the students all found themselves in the open expanse of the ballroom, sleeping bags strewn all across the floor. Many of the students had already changed into their sleep clothes and were preparing themselves for bed.

Jaune was among those who had changed, though his outfit had drawn a fair amount of scrutiny from the people he knew... and the ones he didn't.

So _what_ if he was wearing a light blue onesie with bunny slippers and a white rabbit on the chest? It was cozy as hell, and a gift from his sisters. Was it likely that his sisters had given it to hims solely for their amusement? Yes, but that was beside the point. He made it a point to sleep with this on most of the time.

Neo had nearly died when she saw it. Seriously, he really thought she was going to die from the way she had been rolling on the floor in silent laughter. But by that point she had already given him his papers, so that would've been fine... Ugh he couldn't even think that to himself as a joke. Maybe say it aloud to her, because she would know it was and find it humorous, but without the reaction from her Jaune felt guilty. Maybe they really _were_ friends, then...

Meh. Whatever.

"So... a onesie." Yang, who he was still not on particularly good terms with, commented. "Bold choice, there, cottontop. Let's see how it pays off."

Eyes rolling, Jaune turned to respond. "It was a gift from my sisters, it's really comfortable, and if anyone gives me shit about it I'll probably just threaten to freeze them solid."

Yang nodded, fully aware of his ability to do just that. "Yeah, that was a weird experience." She admitted after a moment of thought. "Usually people just, y'know, try and beat me or stab me... but you basically hugged me. Something we wanna share?" The girl asked with a smirk.

A snort came from the teen. "In your dreams... I would bet money that the two of us would be fighting again by now if not for the fact that I'm actively restraining myself for Ruby's sake." Said girl was currently in the bathroom, hence why he was even really talking to Yang despite the fact that he tolerated her at best.

"Thanks for that, by the way." Yang said suddenly, surprising him. "What? You were the first friend Ruby made in this entire school, snowball. I'm not holding any sort of grudge with you for beating me, but I get why you're not happy with what I did. So I just wanna let you know that I'm glad you're not taking your anger out on her because of me."

He gave her a neutral look, lips in a thin line. "... I'm not mad at you for fighting Melanie and Miltia, you know." The Arc teen admitted after a moment.

It was Yang's turn to be surprised. "What? Seriously?" She had kind of assumed that was his whole point.

"It's more that you _started_ that whole thing by picking a fight with Junior in the first place." He clarified, explaining the reasoning to her. "You know how people normally get info from him? They ask politely and, usually, provide incentive." Which Yang did in a way, it was just that the incentive in this case was literally his own balls. Which was far from polite. "If you had just done things the way everyone else does, that whole incident would never have happened."

He sighed, shaking his head. "Honestly, I'm not even going to sugarcoat this. I think that you're incredibly irresponsible for that. What should have been an easy conversation, maybe a bit of haggling, turned into a brawl that tore up the entire place up. I can't be mad at you for defending yourself from Miltia and Melanie since they attacked you, but I can definitely be mad that _you_ got it to the point where you needed to defend yourself at all."

Much to her credit, Yang honestly looked guilty after he put it that way. "I... get what you're saying, snowball. I go overboard sometimes." Really, she did. It had, at one point, nearly gotten both her and her little sister killed by Grimm. She had grown since then, learned to moderate herself, to take better stock of a situation and decide if it was really the best way to do things... but sometimes punching something was easier than talking, such as the case with Junior.

But Jaune was right, much as she hated to admit it. If she had just asked, maybe flirted a bit and gotten a good price out of Junior for the information she wanted, that whole night could have been peaceful. It didn't matter to her too much; she genuinely enjoyed the fights, but looking back on it Yang realized that she was kind of the bad guy in that whole thing, and that wasn't the best feeling.

The worst part was that she probably wouldn't even feel bad if there wasn't someone directly connected to the people she had hurt telling her all about it. If there wasn't a constant reminder of the fact that she had been in the wrong there, Yang probably would have forgotten that whole incident until it became relevant again.

And that made her feel kind of bitchy.

A deep sigh came from the teen who had just finished berating her. "Look, I'm not gonna tell you how to live your life; I've got no right to do that. But you literally came to Junior for the same kind of thing I did, because you heard he knew just about everything that went on in Vale. I talked to him, passed a bit of lien his way, and he told me what I wanted to know. You grabbed him by the balls and threatened him until he told you whatever it was you wanted. That's like going into a clothing store and punching the clerk in the face until he directs you to the women's section."

Yang would have found the comparison funnier if she wasn't the one he was referencing.

"Did you actually think about how bad you were gonna screw up their business with that stunt?" Jaune asked seriously, giving her a dull look. "Honestly, really and truly. Did you stop and consider the fact that you could cost the club a huge amount between the repairs, the negative reputation, and the injuries? Those suit-and-tie goons actually work there for a living you know. That's the money they use to buy food, pay bills, and so on." Sure, Junior did have other less than legal exploits to fall back on... but honestly? The Club generated a huge revenue due to it's popularity. It's status as Vale's "Best Worst Kept Secret" made it an ideal place for young adults who wanted to feel like they lived dangerously without any actual danger, and for the foreseeable future that income was pretty much gone.

Jaune didn't know _how_ big of a problem that was going to be, just that it was going to be an issue. He only really cared about it because it involved Melanie and Miltiades, but it was worth noting that the rank and file suits had to get their paychecks from somewhere.

"No, I didn't." Yang admitted, meeting his blue eyes with her own lilac. "I didn't think about any of that; I just wanted answers to my question. I could have handled it better, you're right." That much she would give him. She could have done that without throwing a single punch, probably gotten the answer for free without even bringing threats into it. "But that's not how it happened, so I don't really bother dwelling on it."

Jaune nodded. "I get that, I really do." Seriously, there was no point in dwelling in the past. But still, you should at least take the time to learn from it so you didn't make the same mistake twice. "But just... in the future, if you ever go back to the club... don't you _dare_ do something like that again." He glared right at her, frowning deeply. "I can forgive you for this; it'll take a bit of time for me to really get over it, but I will. But if you _ever_ hurt them again for something stupid like that, I'm going to find a way to make you pay for it." He didn't care if she was stronger than him, or that he beat her almost solely off of surprise.

If he was properly motivated, there wasn't much that would stop Jaune Arc.

Yang met his glare with her own steady gaze, unflinching in the face of the threat. "I don't appreciate the threat, but I get where you're coming from snowball."

And she did. She understood completely. If someone hurt Ruby, even on accident or just due to a mistake anyone could have made, she would have been positively livid. Far more out of control than he had been that night. Moreover, Yang didn't even know if she could _ever_ forgive anyone who hurt her little sister.

But Jaune was willing to forgive her for what she'd done, which was far from an accident, and that spoke volumes of his character. He wasn't a bad guy, they had just ended up meeting on some pretty bad terms. Honestly, she had no problems with him, but even for good reason she wasn't just going to take that threat lying down.

So the two continued to regard one another intently, neither letting up on their gaze. Lilac eyes met ocean blue in a battle of wills that would likely have gone on all night.

And then the tension between the duo was shattered as Ruby clumsily stumbled in between them, holding on to a pillow shaped like a corgi's head. "Er, hi?" She waved, an awkward smile coming to her lips.

The older two looked down at her curiously before a thought occurred to one of them. "Weiss is nearby isn't she?" Jaune asked with a smirk, assuming that the younger girl was trying to avoid the heiress in order to prevent yet another rant.

Ruby squeaked at being figured out. "N-no, what makes you think that I was hiding from her so she didn't yell at me again?" Her rather frantic response sounded much better in her head, and so the girl quickly slumped down onto her sleeping bag with a groan, holding the pillow over her head.

Jaune found himself restraining a very unmanly noise. Good grief, she was so adorable. When she got like that he really did have to restrain himself from hugging her.

Chuckling at her sister's antics, Yang slid down beside her and wrapped an arm around the younger girl. "Look at it this way, sis. You made a friend today, and now we're all having a big ol' sleepover... but, y'know, there's this one girl who's a total snob."

A small giggle came from Ruby. "I don't think dad would approve of all the boys at this sleepover."

This was met with a rather wide grin from the blonde. "I know I do." She replied with a purr, glancing towards the side where some shirtless teens were not-so-subtly displaying their figure for anyone to see... and then her gaze landed on the icy teen she had been conversing with. "... well except for the guy in the freaking _onesie_. Way too conservative there, Peter Cottontail." Holy crap it just occurred to her that she had just been sharing a serious moment with actual tension and everything with the dude in a bunny-rabbit onesie with slippers and everything.

And she actually considered him a threat too! That was just plain wrong. No one wearing a freaking _onesie_ should ever be labeled a threat!

Jaune sniffed at this. "If I wanted to run around shirtless I would. This is just way more comfortable." He legitimately didn't get what was wrong with the onesie. It was comfortable. "I'm not your eye candy, Yang."

Her response was unexpected in some ways... and yet entirely predictable in others. "Well of course not. Ruby called dibs." Yang explained as if it was just a fact that he didn't know.

"Yang!" Ruby squeaked in response, a fierce blush on her cheeks even as she pushed against the older girl to remove herself from her grip. "I did not call dibs on anyone!"

And of course, this merely fanned the flames. "So you're sayin' I should take a shot at him? Fire and ice could make for a steamy night." Her grin could hardly fit her face by this point.

Ruby was now as red as her hood, stuttering and fumbling and muttering something about steam.

"Welp." Jaune started, eyeing the sisters settled on the sleeping bag by his feet. "You broke her." The teen gently poked the girl in the flank with his big toe, displaying the bunny-eared slippers for all to see.

Yang shrugged. "Eh, she'll fix herself sooner or later. I do this a lot."

"It's a sister thing, I know." Jaune replied, waving the whole situation off without a care. "I've got seven of them so believe me when I say I know."

A proverbial light bulb lit up over Yang's head. "So _that's_ why you're so comfortable in the onesie. I bet your sisters made you play dress up."

It was Jaune's turn to shrug. "Yep. Several times. I've gotta say, dresses? Don't get the appeal. Too breezy." They got less interested in dressing him up as time went on and his muscles began to develop more noticeably, because that kind of ruined the feminine appeal he had.

But the baby pictures, man... the baby pictures.

"... Wow." Yang blinked. Jaune Arc was weird. Seriously, this guy was openly admitting that he had been forced into dresses for his sister's amusement, prancing around in a bunny-rabbit onesie, and he wasn't even remotely embarrassed about either of these things. That just wasn't the normal kind of reaction a guy had. "Are you gay?" She asked, one hundred percent serious in her questioning. "I don't even mean that as an insult or anything, I just wouldn't expect a straight guy to be so comfortable with... well... everything you just said."

Snickering at that, the white haired teen replied. "No, no, I'm not. Not that there's anything wrong with it or anything, but I'm into girls." He had nothing against homosexuality, but he wanted to be quite clear on where his preference lied just for future reference. Rumor mills in schools tended to get out of hand. "If you ever saw the background on my scroll, you wouldn't have to ask that question." Granted _he_ still had to question just why he kept the picture of Neo on the couch anyway, but she looked cute like that despite the rather... intimidating side of her that he knew existed. When she wasn't trying to murder him she was downright pleasant to be around.

This drew the blonde's attention, the girl obviously intending to try and get him to show her just what he meant by that... but then she was pushed over by a pouting Ruby, landing with a small oomph on her sleeping bag.

"... meanie." The girl mumbled, glaring petulantly at her sister only to squeak as a hand was laid gently on her scalp.

"Good Ruby." Jaune joked, petting the girl's hair softly as he had often done with his sisters. After a moment of no reaction, he found himself curious. Usually his sisters would get annoyed with him for doing that.

Blinking, the teen looked down to see the silver-eyed girl apparently in a state of bliss. Her face had a lighter pink blush to it, eyes closed as she attempted to press her head closer to his hand.

If she had a tail, the Arc boy was certain it would be wagging furiously.

'I just learned an incredible thing.' Jaune noted to himself with a grin, before reluctantly removing his hand from the girl's head, his reluctance being in part due to the expected pouty look that crossed her face in response.

Just as Ruby was about to ask why he stopped, she belatedly realized that she had melted into a puddle under his hand and promptly pulled her sleeping mask over her face in mortification.

"Teasing your sister is incredibly fun, Yang." Jaune admitted, glancing towards the blonde who had just picked herself up.

Said girl shrugged. "'Course it is. She's adorkable."

"Yaaaaang!" Ruby groaned, clearly not pleased with being called such. Lifting her sleep mask from her face, the girl glanced around to try and find something to steer the conversation away from messing with her.

Spotting a black haired girl off to the side, Ruby jumped at the opportunity it presented. "Oh, hey, it's her."

The other two looked over, seeing the same girl. She was sequestered away from the rest of the crowd, reading a book by candlelight. The girl had long dark hair, piercing yellow eyes, and fair skin. Skin which they could see a good amount of due to her chosen sleepwear, a short black yukata that showed off a great deal of her legs.

"You know her?" Yang asked curiously.

"Well, no, not really." Ruby admitted sheepishly. "She saw what happened earlier, with the exploding, but she left before I could say anything to her."

Eyes lighting up, Yang immediately jumped to her feet. "Then I know just what needs to be done here!" She announced, reaching down to grab her younger sister by the arm.

This drew much concern from said sister. "Ack!" She yelped, being dragged to her feet via her sister's grip. "Yang, what are you doing!?" Ruby squeaked, being tugged away from her former resting place without any heed to her complaints.

It was around this point that Ruby regretted mentioning the dark haired girl. If she had to choose between being teased by her sister and friend or being forced into awkward interaction with a stranger, she would take the former over the latter any day. Especially if she could get Jaune to keep petting her hair. That had been _really_ nice. Yang was always too... rough.

Case in point; the situation Ruby was being forced into at this very moment.

"Helloooo~!" Yang sang out as she came within speaking range of the stranger, tugging Ruby before her and then releasing the smaller girl from her grasp. "I believe you two may know eachother?"

The dark haired girl looked up from her book, having heard the distinct sounds of someone being dragged towards her but clearly hoping it wouldn't involve her, and then visibly restrained a small sigh as she spoke. "Aren't you the girl who exploded?" She asked the younger one.

"Yeah, I'm Ruby." She held her hand out to shake, but seeing no reaction from the other girl she drew her hand back. "But, uh... you can just call me Crater F- actually no, just call me Ruby." The socially awkward teen hung her head in humiliation, clearly having no idea how to even speak with a stranger without making a fool of herself.

"Okay..." The dark haired girl replied, but said nothing else.

The two sisters glanced between one another. "What are you doing?" Yang stage whispered, watching her sister botch this entire thing horribly.

"I don't know help me!" Ruby let out in one breath, in quite possibly the most awkward situation of her entire day.

"So, what's your name?" A third voice cut in, drawing Ruby and Yang's attention to the fact that Jaune had followed them over. The white haired teen had a small smile on his face, and unlike Ruby he seemed perfectly comfortable interacting with strangers.

"Blake." The girl replied after a small sigh, clearly wishing they would all just go away and leave her to her book.

Jaune smiled at her gratefully. "Sorry for bugging you, but Ruby here is sort of new and eager to make friends..." He ignored the petulant look this got him from the girl in question, knowing his next words would make it worse. "She's just shy... and Yang seems to like forcing her into really awkward situations for her own amusement." The kick to his shin was expected and he totally deserved it.

Another sigh from the girl. "Right..." She hoped it was made painfully clear by her monotone and refusal to regard them for much longer than a second that she was hardly interested in them, much preferring the book that she had continued to read even during their conversation.

"I like your bow." Yang said suddenly, drawing the girl's attention to her.

Blake scrutinized the blonde for a moment, as though to ask her if she had _really_ just said that.

"It... really goes with your pajamas." The brawler girl tried again, less confident.

A sigh. "Right." Blake repeated.

Eyes rolling, Jaune leaned in towards Ruby for a moment and whispered something in her ear. The girl's face lit up and she took a step forward.

Blake was really prepared for the worst on that one. The socially awkward girl being given advise from a friend was now going to talk again, and that was a recipe for disaster.

"You like to read?" The girl asked, surprising Blake with the honest curiosity in her tone.

"Yes." She kept her response simple, though she couldn't help but want to speed the process of them leaving. "I was enjoying this book a lot, but it's hard with all the distractions."

Ruby was unfettered. "What's it about?"

And again, surprise from the dark haired girl. The question wasn't just some probing question to get her to open up, it really was laced with interest and honest curiosity. Blake figured that at least made it worth answering truthfully. "It's about a man with two souls." She began, face brightening somewhat at the continued interest on the younger girl's face even as her sister gave a strange look to the male of their group. "Both are fighting for control over his body."

"Yeah, real "lovely"..." Yang muttered sarcastically, earning a light slap on the arm from the white haired teen.

"Don't make fun of someone's hobby, Yang." Jaune berated with a small frown. The blonde just stared back at him dully.

Ruby, though... it seemed like she was on a roll. Her eyes practically shone as she took another step forward towards the girl, a small smile on her lips. "I love books." She admitted, unhindered by the continued attention of the girl. "Yang used to read me stories before bed every night. Stories of heroes and monsters... it's one of the reasons I wanted to be a huntress."

For the first time that night, the stoic and solemn figure of Blake was broken as she smiled, giving off a small laugh. "Why is that? Hoping you'll live happily ever after?" She expected something like that, honestly, from a girl who was clearly younger. She was naive, probably not realizing the way the world worked yet. Blake, if she was being honest, was somewhat envious of that.

Blake did not get the response she expected.

"Well... I'm hoping we all will." Ruby replied, looking down to the seated girl. "As a girl, I wanted to be just like those heroes in the books. Someone who fought for what was right, and protected people who couldn't protect themselves."

Jaune Arc, for his part, just smiled softly at that but said nothing. If he needed another reason why he liked Ruby so much, this was it.

"That's very ambitious for a child." Blake complimented with a small smile, before her expression dampened a bit. "But unfortunately, the real world doesn't work like a fairy tale."

In response, Ruby just offered a tiny smile. "But that's why we're here, isn't it? To make it a better place."

"Oh I'm so proud of my baby sister!" Yang butted in, ruining the moment entirely by wrapping her arms around the smaller girl and pulling her into a fierce hug. She then began making cooing baby noises at the younger girl.

"Yang get off! Cut it out!" Ruby growled, entirely displeased with her older sister ruining her cool moment. She didn't get those often, damn it! In frustration, she lashed out with a kick and a punch at the same time.

The punch hit it's intended target; Yang. She socked the older girl right in the jaw, devolving the situation into a sisterly brawl that they fell in to far too easily for it to be a rare occasion.

The kick, on the other hand... well, collateral damage was the only word to describe the feeling Jaune Arc had as he was sent sprawling, landing on his stomach next to the girl who had been reading with a loud thud.

"Yikes..." Jaune mumbled, shaking his head. "Ruby kicks hard." He glanced up to meet a pair of golden eyes, which were regarding him with amusement. "Er... hi?"

"That was nice of you." She said quietly, so as not to draw attention to them. "Telling her to ask about the book."

Jaune just chuckled, drawing himself into a seated position beside the girl, with a good two feet separating them so as to keep a respectable distance from her personal space. "Ruby is a sweet girl, but she's really awkward." He admitted. "I've known her just for the better part of today, but I can tell that much. So if you just let her flail on her own, she's going to make a fool of herself until she finds something to latch on to." He shrugged. "If no one else was going to throw her a line, I figured I would." Yang would probably never have thought to even mention the book, and Ruby herself was too flustered to really think about it.

Nodding lightly, the girl asked her first question of the night. "What was your name?"

Realizing with a brief widening of his eyes that he had never introduced himself, Jaune apologized. "Sorry, I asked your name but forgot to give mine. I'm Jaune Arc."

"Jaune." Blake repeated, nodding her head. "Thank you." The situation had been awkward for everyone involved until he had managed to salvage it. She didn't really like interacting with people that much, but it was tolerable now.

"What is going on over here!?" Someone shrieked, clearly not happy with the commotion.

Aaaaaand now it was no longer tolerable.

Ruby and Yang paused in the middle of their bout, Ruby holding Yang's upraised foot with one hand as though preparing to tickle it, Yang's arms windmilling as she was leaning backwards on one foot, a wide grin on her lips.

"Don't you realize some of us are trying to sleep?" Weiss berated the two, before finally realizing just who it was at fault for this particular disturbance.

"OH NOT YOU AGAIN!" Yang and Weiss echoed one another, while Ruby's eyes went wide at the raising volume.

"Shhh, guys wait she's right people are trying to sleep!" Ruby pleaded, having released her sister's foot as the two began to yell at one another.

"Oh now you're on my side?" Weiss asked sarcastically.

"I was always on your side!" Ruby shot back, one finger pointing up towards herself.

Yang, for her part, took a threatening step towards the heiress. "What's your problem with my sister?" She asked in a tone that was far from friendly.

"She's a hazard to my health!" The Schnee shouted back, undeterred by the threatening tone.

Blake sighed loudly, something Jaune echoed a moment later. Sharing a brief look between the two of them, both realized that the situation had gone from pleasant to ridiculous in the blink of an eye.

Lifting her candelabra from the small table near her, Blake was preparing to blow it out when a small gust of cold air did the job for her. Blinking, she turned to her side to catch the white haired teen standing up.

"Well, I'll go round those two up and leave you to your sleep." He offered with a small chuckle, using the limited light to navigate. "Goodnight, Blake."

Unable to keep the smallest of smiles from her face, Blake returned the gesture. "Goodnight Jaune."

Perhaps attending Beacon wouldn't be too bad after all...

* * *

AN: First day at school. I forgot to put AN's in the originally posted chapter. Fixed it now I guess.

I just kind of feel like any story on here needs to be framed by author's notes. It just doesn't feel... right, without that.

Anyhow. Jaune meets Ruby, they hit it off. And then Yang happens, and we all know what happens when Yang is involved.


	5. Chapter 5

Hey again, all. I'm doing more of this. So last we had Jaune at Beacon. First day and whatnot. Now we have the first part of initiation, and the meeting of partners. Also Jaune abusing his Semblance for shits and giggles. He can actually do some pretty convoluted things with it if given time to.

I've messed with the dynamic this chapter, guys. I've done it and I'm not even remotely repentant.

* * *

Waking up in the morning was an interesting experience for Jaune.

Not only was he cuddled up in a sleeping bag, something that was alien to him because he hated camping, but there was someone less than a foot from him on his left side.

Turning a single blue eye towards the intruder in his personal space revealed the positively adorable sight of Ruby's sleeping face, the girl still one hundred percent out cold.

Shifting his gaze back towards the ceiling, Jaune noted that not only was it still dark, he seemed to be the only one in the immediate vicinity awake. A few quick glances proved that there were, however, other bags unfilled. Thus he safely assumed it was just early in the morning and that he had woken up because Ruby was so close to him.

Why was she right there anyway? He remembered that they, Yang and Ruby, had told him to stick near them. He hadn't complained, but he insisted that Ruby stay in between himself and her sister because Jaune didn't want to deal with any potential shenanigans from her. She had already gotten a bit too curious after he had mentioned his scroll background, a mistake he wished he'd thought through a bit more, in addition to him texting Neo to let her know he hadn't died yet.

Honestly, Jaune still found her terrifying... but despite that, he found himself beginning to _like_ Neo. Not just tolerate, but genuinely enjoy interacting with her. Whether through texts or in person, he had gotten used to her caustic wit and blunt honesty and that was the hardest part about befriending Neo... except, y'know, getting over the fact that she was a murdering psychopath who had nearly sliced his neck open with a smile on her face.

No, he hadn't seen her face while she was doing that. How did he know? Because she had told him.

Neo? She was unstable. Also vicious. Sadistic. Scary. Irritating. Rude. Bossy. Whimsical. Adorable. Affectionate.

... God, Jaune needed to stop thinking too hard about why he liked her. It was better to just go with it. With that in mind, reached off to his right to pull his scroll from the bag he was keeping his clothes in. He was far too paranoid to put things anywhere that wasn't within arms reach, especially now that he had several messages and pictures from a criminal on his scroll.

Checking his inbox quietly, the Arc teen found himself smiling at Neo's response.

His text had literally said "Not dead yet."

Neo's response?

 _'Aw, darn. Well, there's always tomorrow! :D'_

Was it weird that he found her absolutely freaking adorable despite the fact that she was telling him to get killed? It was the smiley face, he was sure. That whole sentence would look way more menacing if not for the happy little emoticon at the end of it.

With that done, Jaune placed his scroll bag in his bag and turned only to find that Ruby had somehow managed to get even closer to him.

Quirking a brow, he decided that he wasn't going to wake her. They had some time before they needed to be awake, around half an hour.

Jaune wasn't going to wake her before she needed to be up; the look on her face as she snuggled into that corgi pillow was one of the cutest things he had ever seen.

Did he feel like a creep for watching her sleep? Not particularly. She was the one who had somehow moved herself within a foot of his sleeping bag in the night. He could hardly move unless he wanted to wake her, and there was only a half an hour before he needed to get up anyway. Not like he could really go back to sleep.

Judging by the tiny little smile on her lips, Ruby was having a good dream.

The thought made him smile too.

He rolled back over slowly, looking up at the ceiling once again.

Today was initiation, which would be something like a test from what he knew. Jaune was confident he could handle it, no matter what the initiation turned out to be. He hadn't come this far to fail, after all. He had, apparently, risked his life to get fake transcripts to even attend this school in the first place. Like hell was he gonna get bumped out before even attending his first class!

Mumbling drew his attention to the girl sleeping next to him. Unintelligible grumbles and rustling that Jaune figured were the sounds of Ruby waking up. Turning again to view her, ocean blue eyes met sparkling silver.

"Mornin', Ruby." He greeted the groggy girl, who opened her mouth slightly as though to reply but was too out of it to make words.

After a few seconds, the girl blinked and then realized that she was less than ten inches away from Jaune. "... How did this happen?" She asked quietly, a small blush coming to her cheeks. She was close enough to him to feel the _lack_ of heat radiating from him.

Jaune sat up in his sleeping bag, stretching his arms over his head and taking in the satisfying sound of bones popping. Regarding her with a small grin, the snowy haired Arc replied. "Probably cuz' you move in your sleep." She had started about three feet from him, closer to Yang. Now she had practically swapped position, seeing as how Yang was conked out nearly four feet away.

Which may not seem like much distance, but considering the limited floor space... yeah. Moreover it was just funny to him how Ruby had somehow managed to scoot closer to him.

A part of his mind attributed it to the fact that Yang was very active in her sleep, as evidenced by the fact that not only was she sprawled out on her sleeping bag, but she was even still shifting in her sleep. That would drive him insane if he had to sleep too close to her.

Thankfully, _that_ would likely never be a concern.

"Oh." Ruby replied sleepily, rolling over to look up at the ceiling. "It's morning already?" She asked.

"Yep." Jaune replied cheerfully. "You ready for initiation today?"

The mention of their initiation, and the unspoken promise of actually getting to show off her skills, brought Ruby to wakefulness faster than anything else could have. "Yeah!" She replied happily, sitting up from her sleeping bag to regard him with a wide smile. "It's gonna be awesome!" She practically squealed the last sentence in enthusiasm.

Jaune laughed. "You're eager, I guess. That's good." He decided to get up himself, throwing the sleeping bag off and over beside his carrying bag. Kneeling near the container, he quickly fished out his clothes and grabbed his scroll before slinging the satchel over his shoulder.

Ruby watched him curiously for a few moments, before hopping up from her own bedding and gathering up her personal items.

Throwing her a look over his shoulder, Jaune felt a warm grin come to his face after he saw the happy little smile that was plastered on the girl's face as she grabbed her stuff. This was how Ruby was meant to be; chipper, upbeat, optimistic, and adorable. Not miserable on the ground or hanging her head because some girl was talking down to her.

And through all of this, Yang was still out like a light. "Should you wake up your sister, Ruby?" Jaune asked lightly, drawing the girl from her fantasies of beheading Beowolves and Ursai with her beloved scythe.

Ruby pouted briefly, remembering how Yang had decided to tease her about Jaune. That brought an idea to her head, though. "Hey Jaaaaaune?" She asked, drawing out his name cutely. Seeing the white haired teen's attention on her, she clasped her hands together behind her back and began to lightly rock on her heels, giving him a tiny little smirk. "Wanna play a prank on my sister?"

Jaune nodded immediately, a wide grin on his lips. "Obviously. I'm still miffed at her." He got a distinct feeling he knew where this was going, too, and it positively tickled him.

The giddy look on Ruby's face made this even more satisfying than it would have been otherwise.

"Do you have a bucket or something on you?" She asked. "Or even a cup would do."

He gave the younger girl a deadpan look. "No, I don't. I can do something similar, though." They weren't just going to do something like dump a bucket of water on her with them in the same room, though. That would be silly. Yang would know from the very moment she realized what had hit her just who was responsible, but he would be in the men's room changing his clothes by then so he'd be relatively safe.

Placing his hands in front of him, Jaune formed a disk made of ice. After a few moments, he raised to edges of the disc up into walls, leaving him holding a bucket. "D'you have some string or something?" He asked after thinking for a second.

"Uh..." Ruby frowned, glancing around idly. "Nope."

Jaune shrugged, still holding the bucket. The ice it was made of was thick enough that it wouldn't melt too quickly, and so he set it down on the floor before placing his hands together in front of him this time. "This might work, then..." He muttered, pulling his hands apart.

Between the icy teen's hands, links of chain made of ice were being formed. The links were small and moderately thin, looking quite fragile honestly. After getting the chain to the length he desired, the teen placed one end near the bucket. Soon enough, the final chain link was created, attaching to the side of the bucket.

On a roll, the teen was grinning widely as he walked slowly towards the sleeping form of Yang, determining just where this would need to be placed to fall properly.

Soon enough he found what he needed, and at that location a small pillar of ice formed, with a slightly taller one some feet behind it.

Jaune attached the other end of the icy chain to the taller pillar behind the first, before settling the bucket on the smaller one, leaning in such a way that the only thing keeping it from falling on Yang's face was the chain.

The very thin, very fragile chain, made of ice. Which would melt in like two minutes or so.

And with that, he filled the bucket to the brim with snow before walking back towards and awestruck Ruby with a grin.

Any witnesses to this feat kept to themselves, not wanting a part in the weirdness they were certain would come of it.

"Get ready to run. She can actually go into the girl's room to hunt you down in retaliation, so best to make it seem like you're uninvolved." It was left unsaid that he was going to take the blame for this. There was literally no one to suspect for something like this other than him. He restrained his chuckles, though honestly Yang was so out of it he doubted he would wake her even if he was giggling like a schoolgirl.

Jaune backed off, grinning widely at the sight as he snapped a photo with his scroll. "It's a shame I'm not gonna get the reaction shot." He lamented aloud, snickering back towards Ruby who was equally delighted by their shenanigans. "But I better get going before she wakes up and comes for my ass. Don't wanna have to start another indoor blizzard any time soon."

Ruby giggled. "Bye Jaune! I'll see you in a bit."

Waving over his shoulder, the white haired teen began to lightly jog his way towards the changing room.

* * *

The only sign Jaune Arc had of anything amiss was the sudden 'whoosh!' of air he heard at random, alerting him to the fact that something was flying at the back of his noggin.

Being the intelligent young man he is, Jaune Arc did what any other scholarly sort would in his situation.

He ducked.

A fist flew through the air that his head had once inhabited, coming to rest on the closed door of his locker, accompanied by a growl that he was able to place as belonging to an angry female.

In this case, Yang. He glanced up, still crouched from dodging the blow, and offered a sheepish smile towards the far from pleased face of the blonde brawler. "Oh, hey Yang." Jaune began, knowing full well that this was going to escalate the situation even further but decided that it was totally worth it. "Did you like the alarm clock I made you?"

Amazingly enough, the girl merely released a deep breath but did not attempt to crush his head between her hands. "Snowball." She began, voice deadly serious.

"Yes Yang?" He replied.

"I am going to get you back for this." She vowed, one hand pointing to her still damp hair. "And I'm not going to just beat you up or anything; oh no. That would be too simple."

Okay this was starting to get kind of creepy.

"Y'know it was just a joke yeah? A pretty harmless one at that." Seriously, he got that it was annoying, but they had both done way worse things to one another the very night they met. "I'd tell you to calm down but I'm scared that'd piss you off more."

Another sigh forced it's way from Yang's lips. "The only reason I'm not going to punch you for that is because you're Ruby's only friend here, so hurting you is gonna make her sad. Which is gonna make me feel horrible." Saying this, she glared at him. "Don't abuse that, snowball."

Jaune stood up, raising his hands disarmingly. "Okay, okay, I'm sorry." He admitted with a small smile, showing that even though he was apologizing the whole thing was still funny to him. 'Should I tell her Ruby was the one who brought it up?' He wondered to himself, before decided against it. He wouldn't throw Ruby under the bus like that. Seeing the incredulous look on her face, Jaune spoke again. "Seriously, I really am sorry. I totally think you deserved it at least a little bit, though, but that's just cuz' I'm spiteful like that."

"Fine." She grit out, still clearly unamused. "But if initiation turns out to be some kind of free for all or tournament style thing..." Yang let the end of the sentence taper off, cracking her knuckles with a vicious grin that made it perfectly clear what her intentions were.

Gulping, Jaune began to chuckle nervously even as he backed up, hands placed before him as though to ward her off. He did _not_ want to get into a fight with her again, especially since he had expended pretty much all of his tricks in their last bout whereas all she had done was punch him.

There was literally zero chance she was going to fall for the same trick twice, and there was nothing else in Jaune's arsenal to take her down for sure. That trick he did with the ice wall was probably the single most damaging move in his skillset, and she had shrugged it off without a care. On the other hand, just a single punch from Yang had sent him flying across the room.

So yeah, Jaune Arc was not confident that he would be able to survive another all-out brawl with Yang.

And suddenly the mood evaporated as Ruby practically skipped into the room, waving at the two of them cheerfully. "Hey guys!" She greeted enthusiastically, quickly dashing over towards her locker. "Ooooh, I'm just so excited!"

Yang was amused. "You're getting really worked up over this." She noted with a smirk, pleased at the sight of her little sister so happy.

Throwing the locker open, Ruby grabbed her beloved weapon from within and swung around to face the other two. "Of course! Why wouldn't I be?" She asked, twirling once in joy. "Today, I don't have to deal with any of the awkward talking or getting to know you stuff..." With that, the girl began to rub her cheek up against the folded form of her pride and joy. "Today, I get to let my sweetheart do the talking."

Jaune was torn between finding this adorable or amusing, because Ruby looked for all the world like a child cuddling with her favorite stuffed toy... except her favorite toy, in this case, was a collapsible scythe... that was also a sniper rifle. She was practically purring for goodness sake.

In the end, he settled for a healthy mixture of both. His unmanly "aw" was restrained to a thought rather than vocalized. Jaune did, however, allow himself a brief laugh.

On the other hand, Yang seemed to be less than pleased with the declaration. "Well, remember Ruby..." She began, taking a gentle, concerned tone. "You're not the only one going through initiation." Saying this, she gestured to the white haired teen at her side and the pair that had just walked by, an orange haired girl and a boy with green attire and a pink streak in his black hair. "If you wanna grow up, you're gonna need to meet new people and learn to work together."

Jaune blinked at her. 'That is the single most mature thing I've heard come out of her mouth in the entire time I've known her.' Well wasn't that a surprise? "... I feel like there's something wrong with miss "punch first, ask questions while punching" trying to give life advise about responsibility." He chimed in dully, drawing attention to himself and temporarily halting Ruby's rant.

Seeing the glare directed at him, Jaune cut Yang off before she could get on him about interrupting her moment. "But you're right, though." He admitted, hands placed before him in a placating gesture. "Working with people is important, and it's easier to work together with people you know."

Ruby gave the two of them a look, huffing even as she pressed her weapon back into the locker. "Uhg, you two sound like dad..." She groaned in annoyance, before turning back to face them. "Look, first of all what does meeting people have to do with fighting?" The girl asked, before focusing on another part of Yang's statement. "And secondly, I don't _need_ other people to help me grow up. I drink milk." She proceeded to raise her nose in the air as if her last statement killed any possibility of retaliation.

Jaune restrained himself from hugging her, because that was freaking adorable. He found himself doing that a lot with Ruby. Again, though, he didn't restrain his snickers.

Her sister had a valid point though, loathe as he was to admit it. Despite her rather irresponsible actions back at The Club, she did at least have some insight into how the world worked. No one could get through life on their own, it just wasn't going to happen. Everyone needed help sometimes, and strangers weren't as likely to assist as a friend.

"What about when we form teams?" Yang asked the big question.

That cut poor Ruby's posturing back down, as she turned around once more to face her locker, uncomfortable with the thought. "I'll just... uh, be on your team... or something." Suddenly, an idea came to her, and she turned again. "Or I could be on Jaune's team!" She said proudly, feeling as though she had answered the most important question she had since arriving at Beacon.

Jaune shrugged. "I'd be cool with that, but who knows how they're even picking teams? It could be randomized, Ruby." He had no clue whether or not that was the case, but it was best to make sure the girl knew that there was always a chance she could be teamed up with strangers. But, then, what were strangers except friends waiting to be made? 'Or enemies...' He amended to himself, keeping the thought in his head.

Much as he loved his mother and that little phrase in particular, Jaune knew full well that there were some people out there who were just total assholes. Those kinds of people just weren't friend material, but that didn't mean you couldn't get to know them... in this case, though, getting to know them just meant finding more reasons not to like them.

Again, the wind was taken from Ruby's sails. Jaune felt particularly bad, seeing as how he was the one who had done it, but it was for the best. There was no reason to get her hopes up or it would just be even harder if they did end up in the worst case scenario of her being paired with a bunch of strangers.

"Maybe it'd be a good thing, though." Yang said, stroking her hair in a nervous fashion. "It might help you break out of your shell."

This was a side of the blonde that Jaune wasn't expecting to see, a more careful and thoughtful side. It was weird.

Ruby made an appalled noise. "What the, I don't need to break out my shell! That's absolutely ridiculous!" She crossed her arms, turning her head to hide the pout that had formed on her lips.

She didn't do a very good job.

"Nah, that's not ridiculous." Jaune cut in, drawing attention back to himself. "You know what is? The fact that my stuff was in locker six-three-six." Well, his stick rather. His scroll and clothes were with him. "I would've thought I'd remember having to count that high."

The two girls stared at him before breaking out into light chuckles, bringing a smile to his face.

"Leave it to snowball to _break the ice_ , huh?" Yang quipped, amused at the reaction her joke got from her little sister.

Jaune snorted a bit in laughter. "It's _snow_ problem for me." He responded, barely able to restrain his cackling at the horrified look Ruby was giving him.

Yang's grin widened. "That's a pretty _cool_ talent to have."

" _I c e_ what you did there." Jaune replied, spelling out the word "ice" with emphasis.

"Oh God please just stop!" Ruby begged, shaking her head in terror. "There can't be two of them! There just can't be! You two aren't supposed to get along well enough to make puns together!"

"Consider this your _pun_ ishment for conspiring against me with snowball here." Yang shot back, grinning at the surprised look on her little sister's face. "What? You seriously thought I wouldn't find out? I wasn't the only one in the room you know."

Oh that's right, unlike some people Yang actually _wasn't_ socially awkward. So she did have the ability to just ask what happened.

Neither Ruby nor Jaune had actually considered that. "Did you end up punching the person you asked this time or no?" He couldn't help but take the shot.

"You know, snowball, you and me? We're gonna get along just fine." Yang exclaimed, throwing an arm over his shoulder again. "See, once you get past the whole "we totally wrecked that club with a pointless brawl" thing we're like the best of friends."

"Oh yes, the very bestest of best friends." Jaune replied with heavy sarcasm, quirking a brow at her. "Now get off'a me before I pretend to be a cop and tell you to freeze."

Yang felt like pushing her luck. "Oh man, snowball, I didn't know you were into roleplay... that's kinda hot." She purred.

Jaune, as much as he hated to admit it, actually thought about that for a moment.

A blush came to his cheeks even as he began rapidly lowering the temperature directly surrounding him, something that eventually forced Yang off with wide eyes.

"Whoa!" She muttered, backing away from him and rubbing her bare arms. "Seriously, trying to play hard to get? Don't need to be so..." She looked directly at her younger sister as she paused, making certain to lock eyes with the girl. " _Cold._ "

Ruby groaned pitifully.

"And speaking of cold..." Jaune mumbled, seeing the white haired Schnee girl speaking with a redheaded girl dressed in very flattering armor. "Does it seem a little off that snow angel over there is actually warming up to someone?"

Quirking a brow at the moniker he'd given Weiss, Yang couldn't help but mention it. "Snow angel?"

"Yep. Snow angel. Pretty to look at, but if you get close enough you can usually see the hand prints." He nodded to himself.

"Now I'm sure you thought that was deep and wise and all..." Yang started, giving him a weird look. "But me? I just heard a lot of gibberish."

Eyes rolling, Jaune replied. "It's partially an inside reference." He admitted. "My sisters and I used to talk about how they always left handprints in their snow angels when they had to get up." Until, of course, he'd just suggested they have someone else help them up. Why none of them thought of that he would never know, but they seemed thrilled when he had finally offered the suggestion one day.

Girls were weird.

"Anyhow, it's kind of like this; if you're far away from something you can't see all the little imperfections, but it's really clear up close. I feel like that's kind of how Weiss is." Being the heiress of a famous company like the Schnee Dust Company would not be an easy life. Maybe not the worst life, obviously, as money could provide a very good upbringing... but judging by her rather icy demeanor, the girl was probably not used to interacting with the normal people who made up most of the world. Not to mention the fact that the Schnee Dust Company was constantly in conflict with the White Fang. That could have caused some serious issues in her childhood.

Or maybe she really _was_ just a spoiled brat. He didn't know her well enough to make that assumption one way or another.

Ruby nodded, seemingly seriously contemplating his words.

Yang, on the other hand? She was snickering. "I dare you to go introduce yourself." She knew full well just who the Ice Queen was talking to, but it was apparent that their frosty friend here was clueless. She figured it would be hilarious to watch him strut up to the Champion of Mistral without a clue who she was.

"Why?" Jaune asked.

"Cuz' it'll be funny." She retorted, as though it were obvious. And, to her, it was.

Jaune thought about it for a minute. "Eh, sure, why not?" He relented after a bit of thought, deciding to just go with it. "If you're gonna record this now would be the time." He commented, before beginning to walk confidently towards the conversation going on between the two girls.

"I was thinking that maybe we could be on a team together." He heard Weiss say, something which caught him off guard a bit. This girl was asking someone else to be on her team specifically? That's interesting.

"Well, that sounds grand." The redhead replied.

"Aren't teams gonna be made up of like four students?" Jaune asked as he came within speaking distance, waving at the two girls.

The redhead was nice enough to wave back, so that was something. Weiss, however, seemed displeased with him interrupting their conversation. "Is there something you need?" She asked, giving him a rather cold glare.

But, well, it had been said many times that cold didn't bother Jaune much. "Not really, I'm pretty much content. How are you today, snow angel?"

She did not appreciate the name and it was spelled clear as day on her face. "I was perfectly fine until some buffoon arrived to bother me."

"What? Where is this guy? I'll teach him a lesson or two!" Jaune shot back with a wide grin, feigning ignorance.

"I'm talking about you, you dolt!" She growled.

Jaune pointed one finger towards himself questioningly. "Who, me?" He continued to pretend he didn't realize that his presence was irritating her.

"Yes, you!" Weiss shouted, jabbing a finger at his breastplate. "Do you have any idea who's conversation you interrupted?"

"Well, yours and the pretty redhead's I guess?" Jaune wasn't sure why he would know who the armored girl was, but he knew Weiss from her product disclaimer rant yesterday pretty well. "But if we're talkin' names, then I'm lost snow angel." He admitted that much.

Stepping between himself and the redheaded girl, Weiss began to introduce her. "This is Pyrhha."

"Hello again!" The girl in question greeted with an enthusiastic wave and a smile.

Well wasn't that just peachy? She was nice at least. "Hey there. I'm Jaune."

"Pyrhha graduated top of her class at Sanctum." Weiss bragged for the seemingly humble girl, who kept a small smile on her face but did not otherwise react to her achievements being recited.

"Never heard of it." Jaune admitted truthfully with a small smile. He was a shut-in during his youth and far too busy in the year he had left home to really keep up with much, hence why he hadn't even recognized one of Vale's most wanted criminals after literally bumping into him.

Weiss blanched briefly before trying a more obvious one, though Pyrrha's smile seemed to widen a tiny bit at his ignorance.

"She won the Mistral Regional Tournament four years in a row, a new record!"

"The what?" Jaune asked, idly digging through the pocket of his hoodie for his scroll to look up some of these terms that the heiress was throwing at him. Feeling something crinkle beneath his hand, the teen quirked a brow before becoming distracted from Weiss and pulling out the offending item.

"Oh, hey, I forgot I'd left that there... better throw this away while there's a can nearby..." He noted, looking at the cereal bar wrapper he had stuffed in his pocket the previous day.

Actually, looking at it he spotted something interesting. "Holy crap, you're the girl on the Pumpkin Pete's cereal boxes! That's crazy, they only put professional athletes and cartoon characters on those!" Jaune realized suddenly, lifting the crumpled wrapper of his cereal bar to show a picture of the redhead wearing a winning smile.

Weiss was not happy about this. " _That_ is how you recognize her?" She asked incredulously, seriously beginning to question the teen's mental faculties.

Pyrrha, on the other hand... she was torn between painfully amused and content. "Yes, actually, that was rather cool... it's too bad the cereal isn't very good for you."

"It's basically sugar coated sugar flakes, yeah." Jaune agreed with a nod. "But man, I practically lived off that stuff for a while. Can't believe I didn't recognize you sooner."

"That's fine." Pyrhha admitted with a smile. "Not everyone needs to know who Pyrrha Nikos is, after all." She would honestly prefer it if fewer people did.

Jaune shrugged. "Well, it was nice meeting you. I'm going to head out."

It was time for initiation, and he just couldn't wait.

* * *

Why was he excited for this again? Jaune couldn't help but ask himself that question as he was sent hurtling through the air via a launch pad, inspecting the emerald green canopy below him with a sigh.

The Emerald Forest. A Grimm infested stretch of land where the creatures were frequently used as test dummies for aspiring young Hunters.

He hadn't expected their initiation to take them there.

Nor had he expected to literally be _launched off of a freaking cliff._

Noticing that his forward momentum was quickly falling off, transitioning more towards downward momentum if he had to say, Jaune sighed again.

This was not the reaction one may expect from a teenage boy who was just tossed off of a cliff, but he was pretty much safe honestly.

Raising his staff above him, holding the item by the crook, the white haired Arc began generating ice with his Semblance in order to stop his freefalling.

After a few moments, a parasol of ice had extended outwards from the bottom of his weaponized stick. It was sturdy and firmly attached to the item, which was good.

A few more seconds passed, and suddenly the chaotic fall had been stabilized due to gusts of freezing wind catching beneath the umbrella.

The sight, to any onlookers, was positively ridiculous.

There, floating merrily through the sky like a dandelion seed, was a prospective student of Beacon Academy. He had pulled himself up to rest one foot in the crook of his makeshift staff, the other lazily hanging down below him as he crouched with one arm steadying himself on the floating stick, gusts of air constantly propelling it forward and retaining it's altitude.

Most interestingly was what one would see in his other hand; the boy had taken out his scroll and was now snapping pictures of the landscape below, while continuing to lazily float along.

From the cliff-face, two people were looking upon the scene with varied reactions. The variety came, primarily, in the fact that only one of them had really shifted in their reaction whatsoever.

Taking another sip of his coffee, Headmaster Ozpin commented on the peculiar sight of Jaune Arc floating through the air on an icy parasol. "I suppose that's something one doesn't see every day." He admitted quietly, bringing his mug to his lips yet again. "What do you think, Glynda?"

Glynda Goodwitch stared. "I will admit that it is a creative use of one's Semblance, Headmaster." She frowned for a moment, though. "However, I cannot condone the irresponsibility of taking pictures for entertainment value during an important test." Glynda half expected a Nevermore or a Griffon to just fly out of nowhere and swallow the teen whole. Playing on your scroll while your life was at risk was not a very good sign of maturity.

Ozpin shrugged lightly. "Perhaps so." He offered, continuing to regard the teen as he floated.

Back with Jaune, the boy was debating whether or not to descend. The original plan had been to find a clearing to land in, or somewhere he at least couldn't spot the dark figures rushing to and fro... but that plan seemed to be spotty at best, because the Emerald Forest was living up to it's name as a forest. He saw a lot of trees and not much flatland.

With that in mind, he just shrugged and began to lower his altitude slowly, keeping a watchful eye out for any sort of Grimm in the vicinity.

As he breached the treeline, the rays of scattered light becoming scarcer and scarcer as he went down, Jaune allowed the umbrella-like attachment to his weapon of choice to shatter, raining icy fragments on the ground below even as he hooked a branch with the crooked end of his stick in order to suspend himself for a few moments.

Predictably, the Beowolves waiting in the underbrush rushed out at the first sign of something hitting the ground. Upon seeing no sign of prey, they turned their attention upward and saw a deadpan Jaune Arc aiming his scroll at them. "Say cheese." He muttered, a smirk coming to his lips as he took a rather comical picture of three befuddled Beowolves staring up at him.

Sliding the device back into his pocket, deciding to send that picture to Neo later for giggles, the white haired teen hoisted himself onto the thick branch he had hooked his stick around and regarded the cautious wolf-like Grimm below him.

Holding both hands out before him, the teen manifested several sharp, but moderately thin, spines of ice. They floated in front of him as he lined up the targets, before letting the ice-spikes fly at high speed towards the Grimm.

Two of them dodged, but neither had been the primary target so that was fine. The one in the center had taken a clean hit, at least four long spines of ice sticking from it's body as it fell forward and began to dissolve. The others had either missed or shattered on what little armored plating the Beowolf had.

The other two were not pleased by that, snarling menacingly at him as they attempted to climb up the tree to engage him in combat.

Jaune snorted, before placing one hand on the branch. Channeling his Semblance, the teen spawned several thick spikes of ice in a ring around the tree's girth. The spikes were pointed downward, which prevented the climb of the Beowolves.

After a moment, Jaune clenched his fist and the several spikes that had grown in place to keep the wolves from climbing were now falling.

Neither Beowolf survived, both being knocked from the tree and penetrated as the stalagmites fell to the ground. Their bodies evaporated soon after.

"Okay." Jaune mumbled to himself, dropping to the forest floor. "So Grimm aren't stupidly scary strong like Yang or ridiculously fast like Neo. Good to know." He had been concerned that it would take a lot to put down a Grimm... his concerns were, thankfully, unfounded. From his rather limited knowledge of the subject, it was likely the case that the Grimm did not have Aura, seeing as how his ice had penetrated deep without even impacting the usual 'force field' of sorts that Aura generated.

With that in mind, things had become a lot less intimidating.

Like that growling that obviously signified more Beowolves. That would, under other circumstances, have terrified him.

But now? It was kind of an irritation but not much more.

Two more jumped out from the underbrush on either side of Jaune, both crashing into a thick wall upraised ice. Briefly stunned from the impact, neither reacted when a spike jutted out from the wall and into their abdomens, proceeding to stab deeply and sprout even more branching spikes from within their bodies.

They dissolved into black smoke immediately, and Jaune tapped the icy walls with either hand, shattering them. The falling shards of pointy ice were then lobbed off into the undergrowth nearby where he had spotted another of the creatures.

With a pitiful whimper, a third Beowolf had passed on.

Jaune Arc grinned widely.

This... he could get used to this.

Which was a good thing, because more were on their way. He had not, in fact, chosen a landing zone free of Grimm.

Deciding to try something more ambitious than just stabbing the things, he held his hands before him, palms facing inward, and manifested a disk between his hands. A second later, the edges of the disk were shaped into serrated blades. A motion of his hand sent the thick buzz-saw of ice flying, spinning all the while, seemingly moving based off the teen's will and hand motions.

For the moment, the discus merely circled around him as he regarded his surroundings.

Then more of the Beowolves rushed in, this time four of them.

One was cut down immediately, the serrated disk slamming into it's face the moment it exited the brush.

Jaune hopped several feet into the air, using his Semblance to boost him up to that height, in order to dodge a claw swipe from another Beowolf. As soon as the creature was directly under where he had been, Jaune created a sturdy tip at the bottom of his staff and plunged downwards towards the creature, preparing to impale it in one go.

It dodged away, leaving Jaune on the ground and in the way of another of the wolf-like Grimm. This one attempted to snap it's jaws around his neck, only to find a thick bar suddenly appearing in it's mouth, forcing it wide open and preventing the creature's bite. Jaune removed his hand from the creature's mouth, curling two fingers on his right hand back in a 'come here' gesture which drew the serrated disk of ice back into the fray, bisecting the one that had tried to bite his head off.

That left two more of the Grimm, and Jaune rather liked his odds. That last impact had shattered his buzz-saw, leaving thumb-sized fragments of sharp ice on the ground. Quickly, he drew the shards to him with another gesture, the small pieces of ice orbiting around him even as more large spikes spawned in the air above and behind him, their tips aimed towards the Beowolves as though they were attracted by movement.

Jaune flung his hands forward, lobbing the smaller shrapnel in a blast that sailed towards the shadowy monsters. They both dodged it, only to find the larger spines penetrating them through multiple points.

This was much more practical for hordes, Jaune would admit, even though the buzz-saw was totally kickass.

Thankfully, that seemed to be all of the Beowolves in the area. Individually, Beowolves were not very strong creatures. They were, however, pack hunters. And the important thing to note about this was that Jaune had stumbled on what he knew to be a small pack, ranging from ten to fifteen of the creatures.

Larger packs could have far more of them. He was glad that he didn't have to expend much effort this early in the game, having only used the basics to deal with these.

With that in mind, Jaune decided to make himself scarce. He still had to find that damn artifact so he could actually pass initiation... as well as a partner. He needed one of those.

But, seriously, he was in the middle of a Grimm infested forest and he had actually entered the battlefield so to speak several minutes later. Everyone had probably paired up by now, so chances were he was going to end up flying solo for a good while.

"Yeah, it's not like I'm just going to bump into someone else who hasn't found a partner yet, not after this long." He chuckled to himself, continuing to trek forward cautiously, eyeing the underbrush in preparation.

Thanks to this, Jaune didn't notice the fact that there was something above him.

And suddenly there was a face in front of his. Jaune blinked, before suddenly feeling the light touch of a finger pressing against his nose.

"Boop."

There was a girl there.

Jaune blinked again. No, she was still there. Not his imagination.

He looked up, seeing that she was... held in place by a vine? What? She had a vine wrapped around her feet or something, and was now suspended in front of him. Looking back at eye level, he saw a pair of turquoise eyes and a bright smile.

"... hi?" He said, more questioningly than anything seeing as how this girl had just kind of shown up out of nowhere in what has to be the most ridiculous entrance he had ever seen.

"Hiya! I'm Nora, and it looks like we're gonna be partners! And I mean I had wanted to be on a team with Ren, we even made a secret sloth call signal and everything, but I didn't see him and then I set up this really cool bungee cord thingy so I could be all like "Ohai Ren!"," She waved, as though the Ren in question had actually just arrived, but a quick inspection proved that they were the only two around. ", and just boop his nose, but you walked by first and said something about not having a partner and Ren probably already ended up meeting up with someone since I've been here so long and I decided "Hey, he looks nice! Why not be partners with him?" and so I swung down all cool like and then..." She raised her hand again, pressing one finger to the stunned Arc's nose once more. "Boop!"

Jaune looked at her incredulously. Did this girl even need oxygen? She had just said all of that without a single breath. "Right..." He drawled, inspecting the suspended girl a bit more closely seeing as how she was apparently going to be his partner for the next four years.

She had orange hair, fair skin, and a rather sunny disposition about her. She wore a collared black vest, a sleeveless white top with a heart shaped cutout that revealed a bit of her cleavage, and what appeared to be at least two more layers of cloth beneath that, the first being red and the second blue. White sleeves on her arms that went up to about her biceps, and each hand had a pink fingerless glove on it. A pink skirt that was fairly short, but not immodest, and a pair of white sneakers with pink laces.

The most apparent thing about the girl, aside from the fact that she was upside down, was the strange sort of... armor? She had on. It started at either shoulder near her neck. The armor itself didn't really seem like... well, armor. It wasn't the most practical positioning, leaving a lot of vitals bare. The thickets part of the armor was just below her bust. It looked more like a harness than armor, actually.

"... So d'you need a hand getting down or...?" Surely she had some sort of plan to get down.

"That'd help, yeah." She admitted after a moment, proving him wrong. "I figured I could just shimmy out of it but I think I tied the knot a lil' too tight."

"'Kay." Jaune replied helpfully, forming a sharp disc of ice in his hands. Lifting his left hand, the disc flew up towards the vine and sliced right through it, leaving gravity to do it's job and pull the redheaded girl down to earth.

Seeing as how her position upside down left much to be desired as far as landing properly went, Jaune managed to catch the girl bridal style.

"Thanks!" Nora exclaimed cheerfully. "So what's your name, partner oh partner of mine?"

"Jaune Arc. It's short, sweet, and the ladies love it."

* * *

"So you have ice powers right?" Nora asked, brimming with energy as the duo walked along through the Emerald Forest. "Like, you can make ice and snow and all that stuff?"

Jaune nodded. "Yeah, basically. It's not just "ice" either, though, since I can actually do a little bit with the wind too."

"Oooooh! Like what?" The girl questioned curiously, genuinely excited by the prospect.

Thinking for a moment, Jaune replied. "Well, I can make wind? If I wanted I could make it really windy around me, but it'll be cold air. Tends to make people mad if I do that." Continuing on with his train of thought, the boy snapped a finger. "Oh, I can expel blasts of wind from parts of my body. Like shooting a blast of wind from my feet when I jump." Or from other parts of his body to maneuver himself while midair.

"Neat! Can you show me?" She wanted to see that, it sounded like it would be cool.

Jaune quirked a brow, but decided to go along with it. "Sure." And with that, he propelled himself about five feet into the air without moving his legs at all. The small gust of wind blew Nora's skirt up somewhat, but Jaune wouldn't have had a good view of it even if he had been paying attention.

What did have his attention, at the moment, was a Beowolf that he had managed to miss. It must have been stalking them this whole time, and somehow they hadn't noticed. "Nora, behind you!" He shouted frantically, cursing himself for not paying attention.

"NORA SMASH!"

There was a gruesome crack, a whoosh of displaced air from something being launched at high speed, and a sickening thud.

On a related note, the Beowolf was dead now. It's disfigured corpse was now evaporating into black smoke, just as a stunned Jaune landed on the ground.

The grenade launcher Nora had at her back turned out to be more than just a grenade launcher, as it seemed.

With an almost unnervingly large smile, the girl was still in position from her swing. The grenade launcher had extended in such a way that the body of the weapon was now the head of an exceedingly large hammer, and she had swung it like a golf club into the jaw of the approaching Beowolf literally a second after he had said something.

"Wow." He mumbled, eyes wide.

"Thanks for the heads up, Jauney!" Nora exclaimed, quickly skipping over to throw and arm over his shoulder. "I didn't even notice that thing until you said something!"

Jaune blinked. "Your reflexes are crazy then, because it looked like you swung right as I started to say something."

"I did! Usually whenever someone yells and I can't see any reason for them to yell it means "hey, swing your hammer behind you or someone's gonna get'cha!" so I did, and it worked, and now eeeeeeverything is oooookay!" She held one arm out before her, the other over Jaune's shoulder, as she gazed out towards the forest. After a moment of doing this, she turned a confused look towards him. "So do you remember what we're out here for again?"

He really could have facepalmed at that, but Jaune restrained himself. "Find artifacts, bring them back. Don't die. S'about it."

"Sounds easy enough." Nora nodded to herself. "Yep. We just find the artifact thingies and don't get eaten. Sounds like a plan!"

Most people wouldn't say that without being sarcastic.

Nora was not most people and to her this was the greatest plan ever conceived by mortal minds.

'Well at least she's enthusiastic...' Jaune noted with a chuckle, lightly prying the girl's arm from his shoulder. "Yeah, let's hurry up a bit too. I'd rather not push my luck and run into something bigger than a Beowolf."

A loud crash sounded out.

Jaune looked over his shoulder to see trees beginning to fall.

He sighed. "Why did I have to open my big fat mouth?"

"That's a big Ursa!" Nora shouted gleefully, eyes sparkling in recognition. Beowolves didn't trample through trees like that, and smaller Ursa tended to avoid it as well. Boarbatusks could maybe knock one tree over, but they'd have to hit it a lot, and a Death Stalker? Well, that'd just be a silly thing to run into.

"Why are you happy about that!?" Jaune countered, twirling around to face the incoming threat with both hands on his staff.

Nora, too, was in a battle stance. Her hammer was hoisted before her, and she had a particular glint in her eyes that made him sort of uncomfortable. "I'm gonna RIDE IT!" She shouted, dashing towards the noise of falling trees that was steadily approaching them.

"NO, NORA, WE'RE GOING TO KILL IT AND MOVE ON! IF WE CAN EVEN DO THAT!" Jaune shouted frantically, dashing after the girl. Great, so his partner actually _was_ crazy and that wasn't a one time thing. At least she hadn't tried to murder him yet.

"SORRY CAN'T HEAR YOU!" She yelled back gleefully, slamming her hammer onto the ground and propelling herself forward with an explosion. "TOO MANY 'SPLOSIONS!"

"THAT'S BECAUSE YOU'RE THE ONE MAKING THEM!" Jaune screamed at her, eyes wide at the ridiculousness. Why in the world was she rushing straight towards the damn thing?

Leaping forward again, assisted by her hammer, Nora reached visual range of the Ursa a moment before Jaune did.

"Oh that's a biiiiiii~g Ursa!" Nora practically purred, practically bouncing up and down with excitement.

The Ursa was, in fact, big. Compared to the Beowolves it was absolutely massive. Arms like treetrunks and legs of similar width, it's body as sturdy looking as a boulder and a wide maw filled with razor sharp teeth. Bony plates were all across it's arms and back, with spikes of the same material spaced throughout. A pair of baleful yellow eyes stared towards the two teens that had just run to it, having clearly been moving towards them.

This was most assuredly an Ursa Major, the larger version of the creature. Comparable to an Alpha Beowolf, though they didn't tend to lead packs and were more solitary creatures.

Jaune didn't care much about all that, though, since the thing was now barreling towards them. "Nora, move!" He shouted, proceeding to take his own advise and lunge to the side to avoid the charge.

Nora... well, she had other ideas.

Instead of dodging it, she ran towards the Ursa Major with her hammer rearing back for a swing.

The Ursa swung it's claw towards Nora, who flipped over the attack. Using the momentum from the flip, she slammed her hammer down on it's skull and an explosion sent her further into the air, where she struck a pose, with her hammerhead facing downward and the girl herself flashing a peace sign.

Jaune gaped at her even as the Grimm's face crashed into the hard ground below, the creature sliding along from the momentum it had built up.

The redheaded girl landed next to the bewildered Jaune, readying her hammer again. "That was not a boop. That was more of a bop. There's a pretty big difference between the two, you know." Briefly, she seemed to be quite serious. "Bops are way more violent."

"Duly noted." Jaune sighed, seeing the Ursa Major climbing to it's feet. "Well, I guess I'll do something too..." Stomping his foot on the ground, the Arc teen froze over the ground in a path towards the large Grimm, a solid floor of ice forming in a few seconds.

As large as the Ursa Major was, it took some time for it to pick itself off the ground. Just as it was nearly done with that process... it slipped, legs splaying out to each side as it was unable to adapt to the now slick terrain below it.

This drew a very loud laugh from his partner, who shifted her hammer back into a grenade launcher and proceeded to absolutely _unload_ on the prone form of the Grimm.

Several more explosions echoed out before everything was silent. "D'ya think that did it?" Jaune asked after a moment, ready to react at the slightest provocation.

"Probably not." Nora replied cheerfully, reloading with a wide smile. "Cuz' I didn't really aim for anything fatal. Can't ride it if it's all smoky and stuff."

"Are you still on about that?" Jaune asked incredulously, spotting movement from the smoke. With a gesture of his hand, the smoke was blown away by a burst of wind to reveal the still prone and clearly dazed form of the Grimm. "It looks pretty out of it, I think we can finish it off now." Good thing, too, because that thing could have been a serious menace. Grimm of that size and strength were dangerous. They just had a good skillset to deal with it.

Looking at it in this moment, the Ursa Major was clearly damaged but not dead. In it's current state, there was little chance of the creature really putting up much more of a fight.

And just as he was about to summon up a spike of ice to ram through it's eye and put an end to it once and for all, Nora happily skipped over and leaped onto it's back, grabbing hold of one of the spines.

The Grimm got up faster this time, apparently spurred on by the threat of something on it's back.

Jaune, for his part, was too shocked by his partner actually hopping onto the back of a Grimm to let loose his attack. This brief moment of hesitation led to what he would later regard as one of the most ridiculous events in his life.

Next thing Jaune knew, he was frantically chasing after the running Ursa Major and his wildly cackling partner who was riding on it's back. "NORA GET OFF OF THAT THING!" He shouted, chasing after her.

Her response was simple and not particularly reassuring.

"RUN LIKE THE WIND, YELLOWEYE!"

So here he was, running through the Grimm infested Emerald Forest after his partner... who was riding the back of an unwilling Ursa Major, which was crashing it's way through trees left and right, forcing him to make good use of his Semblance in order to avoid being crushed beneath them or otherwise impeded as he chased the giant Grimm that had been commandeered for Nora's amusement.

What the heck was wrong with his life?

* * *

Some distance away, a black haired teen frowned gently, drawing the attention of his partner. "Is something wrong, Ren?" The redheaded girl asked, concerned at the sudden change from his neutral expression.

"It's nothing, Pyrrha." Lie Ren replied quietly, pink eyes narrowing somewhat. "I'm a bit worried about my friend."

Pyrrha Nikos nodded in response. "I'm sure she'll be fine."

After that, both of them descended into a comfortable silence, neither having much more to say to one another.

Pyrrha had known Ren for roughly an hour thus far and in that time she had gleaned that he didn't say much, and even what she had heard from him in regards to her question was more information than most would receive. She supposed that an hour together slaying the creatures of Grimm would build some sense of camaraderie.

The Champion of Mistral was not put off by his silence. A part of her would have preferred a more talkative partner, but she could certainly appreciate the businesslike demeanor of the teen she had met with. He very rarely spoke to her of his own volition, and that was usually some sort of warning, but she could tell that he was quite unconcerned with her fame and that was refreshing at the very least.

Ren himself was in a similar boat. Originally, he had intended to stick with Nora. That plan had failed spectacularly seeing as how he couldn't locate the girl.

And just as he had been prepared to take a more stealthy approach, to avoid running into anyone else so that he could actually find Nora, he had been set upon by a King Taijitu of all things.

After being distracted by dealing with the giant twin-headed snake, Ren had been unprepared for the sudden entrance of Pyrrha Nikos and was now stuck with her as a partner.

He wasn't bitter about it, though. Pyrrha was a very genuine and kind person, having rushed towards the sound of battle in order to aid one of her fellow students. However, now he had to worry about who was going to end up with Nora... and that kind of concerned him.

"It appears that we've arrived." Pyrrha's voice cut into Ren's thoughts, drawing the pink eyed teen's attention towards the clearing they had just entered.

There appeared to be some open ruins with several pedestals in a semi-circle, each one having what appeared to be different chess pieces atop them. The ruins themselves were stone, very old from the looks of it, with moss and vines crawling up the cracked structures in such a way that simply screamed "ancient".

In addition to the ruins, there appeared to be another pair of students waiting in the clearing.

"So it seems." Ren voiced his agreement after a moment. "I suppose we're to take one of the pieces."

And just as the two were moving to do that, offering brief nods to the blonde and dark haired girl nearby in greeting, something caught Ren's attention.

"... Oh dear." He mumbled, turning just in time to be greeted by one of his worst fears come true.

She had always told him that one day she was going to try and ride an Ursa. And, unfortunately, the opportunity had somehow presented itself.

And this was how Lie Ren was treated to the sight of his childhood friend Nora Valkyrie cheering loudly as she sat on the back of an Ursa Major, a veritable wall of muscle and boney plate, treating it as though it were a mechanical bull at a rodeo.

"NORA! YOU GET OFF OF THAT URSA RIGHT NOW SO I CAN KILL IT!" A white haired teen screeched in frustration, chasing after the form of the gigantic Grimm which had just stumbled into the clearing.

Nora was riding an Ursa Major and someone he assumed to be her partner was running after her, several spikes made of ice seemingly floating alongside him as he ran.

"OKAY FINE JAUNEY I'LL GET OFF OF SENOR SPIKYBUTT!" Nora called back, unhappy with the decision but relenting because she had been riding the Grimm for a good long while by this point.

A moment later, the Ursa was laid out flat on the ground from a hammer strike to it's head. That same strike had been used by Nora to propel her towards the white haired teen.

Said teen proceeded to unleash what Ren assumed to be his Nora induced frustrations out on the downed Grimm, several yard long spikes of ice penetrating through whatever soft spots they could find until the great beast began to dissolve into smoke, the icy boy breathing heavily with wide eyes and a rather terse smile.

"OH HI THERE REN!" Nora shouted from her spot beside her partner, waving at the dark haired teen enthusiastically.

Eyes rolling and saying a silent prayer for the sanity of this ice controller, Ren waved back at Nora.

"Oh hey snowball." The blonde girl chimed in, waving briefly and getting one in return from the winded teen. "Having fun?"

As the boy referred to as "snowball" growled out something unpleasant in response, the yellow eyed girl with a black bow couldn't help but chime in.

"... Did that girl just ride in on an Ursa?"

* * *

I made Nora his partner instead of Pyrrha. Because I like the thought of that.

So my thinking was simple; I wanted to mix things up, but not rock the boat too much. Team JNPR still becomes a thing... but the dynamic is going to shift quite a bit now that Pyrrha has spent some time bonding with Ren.


	6. Chapter 6

So I'm back again, with another chapter. Response to this fic has been rather positive, which I'm quite glad for. This was my first attempt writing the RWBY world in any serious fashion and I do like to think I have a decently firm grasp on things, but it's always nice to see others think so too.

Now, this chapter is probably going to be the last that updates within a ten-dayish update frame, because I had actually written all the way to this point before posting chapter three. So the only thing I needed to do was proofread, essentially.

However, I do also have another document lying around that I've been considering posting, a different RWBY story. And I'll be honest; it's a shot in the dark, much like this one was. I've become something of a fan of the Rosewick ship (Ruby and Roman.) and in my boredom I wrote up something to that nature. Still a bit iffy on how people will like that one, but meh.

And an entirely new idea came to me for a fic; a RWBY/Pokemon crossover that I've put significant thought into, but no actual writing has been done yet. I'll outline that whole deal at the bottom of the fic for those interested.

For now, though, let's get on with the show.

Disclaimer: I don't own RWBY

* * *

A clearing in the woods, six clearly armed teenagers, a ruined building covered in vines, and the quickly dissipating corpse of an Ursa.

This certainly made for an interesting meeting, Jaune couldn't help but think to himself. "So..." He turned to the bubbly redheaded girl at his side. "That's your friend then?" He asked.

"Yep!" She replied boisterously, practically vibrating with energy. "That's Ren. Me and him have known each other forever and we're almost always together!" Pausing for a moment, Nora amended her statement. "But not together together, though. Not that he's not handsome, I mean have you looked at him? But it'd be weird."

Jaune nodded. "... Right. Well, we're here and now we need to grab one of the artifacts... if you wanna catch up with him then I'll go grab the thing." He offered, nodding towards the green-clad young man.

Nora's eyes lit up. "Thanks, Jauney!" She shouted, before dashing over to the suddenly wide-eyed Ren. "RENNY! I MADE A NEW FRIEND AND HE'S AWESOME AND DOES STUFF WITH ICE AND... STUFF!"

The wide-eyed expression came from the fact that Nora had practically cleared the entire area within a span of two seconds in order to tackle him, sending the both of them to the ground as Nora continued to chatter on about her experiences after meeting Jaune. "That's nice, Nora... can you let me up?" Ren asked weakly.

Pyrhha watched with a bemused expression, wondering whether or not she should attempt to help her partner with his rather interesting situation.

The other two teens in the clearing watched, bemused, as the snowy-haired boy walked over towards them and, further, the entrance to the ruin.

"Blake, Yang." He nodded towards them with a smile, though it was slightly strained when greeting the other blonde. "The relics we're supposed to grab are chess pieces?"

"Yes." The dark haired girl with the bow replied simply, glancing towards the reunion occurring about ten feet to her right. "That's your partner then?"

Jaune chuckled lightly, shaking his head. "Yeah, she's... really enthusiastic." He still didn't know what to think of Nora and her particular brand of crazy, but at the very least she wasn't trying to put that hammer to use on him. "And you ended up with Yang."

Said girl cut in. "You make that sound like a bad thing, snowball." The blonde brawler grinned at him, before motioning towards the still prone form of Lie Ren being straddled by the still chattering redhead. "I'm sure Blake could've done worse."

Blake nodded lightly, not saying anything on the subject but clearly agreeing. Being paired with someone as exuberant as Nora Valkyrie would probably have been hell for her.

With a shrug, Jaune moved past the two of them to snag one of the relics. Without much thought on the matter, he grabbed the single remaining rook.

"King of the castle, baby!" He chuckled to himself briefly as he walked back to the two girls, showing off the golden rook.

"Does that make her queen of the castle?" Yang chimed in curiously, unknowingly drawing Nora's attention.

And suddenly Nora was there, having managed to swipe the golden rook from Jaune's hands before he could even react.

"I'm queen of the castle, I'm queen of the castle!" She cheered merrily, balancing the piece on various parts of her body. "Queeeeeeen of the caaaaaaaastle!" Nora continued to sing, twirling around in circles while holding the rook out before her.

Jaune blinked. "Well that answers that question?"

"No, it just opens up a lot more..." Blake chimed in, before narrowing her eyes and glancing up.

"Are you alright, Ren?" Pyrhha asked, reaching a hand down to offer to her partner now that the bubbly carrot-top had removed herself from him.

Throwing a small smile at the girl in return for the help, Ren accepted the hand and allowed himself to be pulled to his feet. "Thank you, Pyrrha."

"It's nothing. So this is your childhood friend?" She couldn't help but ask about the rather colorful girl.

"Yes. Nora is my oldest friend... but she can be a bit of a handful." He admitted this with a small shrug.

Pyrrha nodded lightly, though her smile remained.

"Nora gimme the damn rook back, I'm gonna hold on to it!" Jaune cut in, holding out his hand expectantly. "Or do you really trust yourself not to lose it?"

She blinked once. "Hm..." Nora considered, tapping her chin. "Well Jauney _does_ have pockets on his hoodie, and I _do_ swing my hammer around a lot while he kind of throws ice at people, so he probably wouldn't drop it... but it's shiny." This seemed to be the greatest point of conflict for the girl as she pondered, a frown coming to her lips from the intensity of the thinking she was doing on the subject. "But then if I _do_ lose it does it matter if it's shiny? Then I'd just feel bad for losing it. But if Jauney loses it then _he'll_ be the one to feel bad, and if I hold on to it then... uh..." She lost her train of thought. "I'm kind of hungry." The girl noted at random.

"... The rook, Nora?" Jaune asked again.

Snapping out of her sudden daydream about swimming in a pond of maple syrup with pancake lily-pads, Nora looked again at the chess piece in her hand before shrugging. "Okey dokey, here you go Jauney." The girl tossed the golden rook towards her partner casually.

Jaune sighed. "Thank you, Nora." He caught the relic and quickly slipped it into his pants pocket.

"Blake, what's up?" Yang asked curiously, noticing her partners gaze locked on something above them.

Without responding verbally, the girl turned her disbelieving gaze towards Yang and pointed upwards with her index finger.

Yang and Jaune, the only two who were paying attention to this as opposed to something else, looked up and gasped in surprise.

This managed to draw the attention of Pyrrha and Ren, who both directed their gazes skyward.

Nora was just sort of... dancing in place, off in her own little world.

"... Ruby?" Jaune mumbled to himself after a moment, noticing that there was a red-cloaked girl falling from the sky while yelling something that sounded like 'heads up!'.

After another moment the significance of this event hit him and he found himself echoing Yang.

"RUBY!" The two shouted out, Yang rushing forward to try and grab her little sister before she hit the ground.

Jaune was doing much the same, though rather than remaining on the ground himself he used his Semblance to launch up as high and as fast as he could.

Under the surprised gazes of everyone on the ground, Jaune rose roughly thirty feet into the air from his leap and managed to grab the girl in his arms as she fell.

"Jaune?" Ruby asked, surprised to see that someone had actually caught her while she was still so high up. As disorienting as the entire process of leaping from the back of a giant Nevermore had been, she hadn't quite been able to get Crescent Rose out in time to really slow her descent as much as she would have liked.

Thankfully, there had been people below her, including Yang. So she had faith that someone would catch her.

The girl just hadn't expected them to come up _to_ her to do it, because now they were both looking at a thirty foot drop.

However, Jaune was unconcerned with it. "Hey Rubes, you okay?"

"Yeah but we're still falling." She replied.

Jaune shrugged, still holding the girl in his arms. "It'll be fine."

"Oh." She mumbled. With that simple assurance, the girl just nodded once. "Okay."

And so the two of them continued to fall, Ruby noticing a sudden cold gust of air and shivering as it passed her skin. She didn't react any further, though, knowing this was Jaune's method of slowing their fall. But this on it's own wasn't going to really end up with a completely safe landing, Aura would probably take care of the impact... mostly.

"OOOOOOH, LOOKIT ALL OF THE SNOOOOW!" Someone practically squealed in excitement.

Ah. That explained it, Ruby thought to herself as the world was suddenly filled with white.

Jaune had made a giant pile of snow, at least six feet high and several feet in diameter. They had just landed in that snow, sending up a large spray of the frozen white into the air.

"COLD!" Ruby squeaked, quickly squirming out of the boy's arms and hopping out of the snowy pile... just as someone else leaped into it.

"SNOOOOOOW!" Nora shouted happily, practically diving headfirst into the random pile of snow in the center of the clearing, sending the stuff flying all about even as shouts of protest rang out from within the pile.

"NORA STOP THAT SO I CAN GET OUT!" Jaune shouted belligerently from within the snow, one arm flailing while the other was pinned beneath him... who was, in turn, pinned beneath a cackling Nora.

"Nope! We're gonna make snow angels, Jauney! How often do you get to make snow angels when it hasn't snowed in months?"

"ALL THE TIME NORA!" Jaune replied, his tone clearly conveying exasperation. "I CAN _MAKE_ SNOW!"

"Oh yeah, that's right!" Nora replied, her mind running off on a tangent, exploring all of the amazing possibilities that her partner's power had brought into existence. "We could go sledding! Or have snowball fights! AND MAKE SNOWMEN! JAUNEY YOU HAVE THE COOLEST POWERS EVER!"

Off to the side, Ruby had moved to stand with her sister and Blake, a few feet from Ren and Pyrrha.

Yang had, after getting over the surprise, quickly pulled the younger girl into her arms and was now hugging Ruby, having gone so far as to lift her from the ground.

"Y-Yang!" Ruby squeaked out, partially embarrassed at the emotional display and partially suffocating from the bone-crushing force of the hug. "L-Let me down! I'm fine!"

"I'm so happy you're okay!"

"You're crushing her." Blake pointed out blandly from the side.

With that coming to her attention, Yang quickly dropped her baby sister and offered a sheepish smile in return.

"NORA!" Jaune shouted yet again. "Get the heck off already! I may not mind the cold but this stuff is gonna get into my clothes and melt!"

"Hey Jauney can you make popsicles and stuff with your Semblance?" The girl asked, seemingly ignoring his request.

Off to the side, Ruby quirked a brow at the display. "Uh... who is that girl and why is she straddling Jaune in the middle of a pile of snow?" The girl asked curiously.

Blake replied to her question with a sort of detached amusement. "That's his partner, and she's harassing him about mundane uses for his ice powers."

"That's who he got partnered with?" Ruby giggled at the sight of the prone Arc still attempting to remove the redhead from him, one of his arms pinned under his body while the other flailed wildly, throwing snow left and right.

"Yup." Yang chuckled as well at the sight, unable to help herself. "Need a hand in there snowball?" She called out, drawing the attention of the white haired teen.

He looked torn for a moment, before frowning. "Nora?" He asked, this time quietly while twisting as much as he could to look at her.

"Yes Jauney?"

"Could you please get off of me? I can't feel my left arm."

"Oh sure! Why didn't you say something sooner?" She immediately hopped off of the teen.

"Oh... y'know, just didn't think of it..." He muttered with a sigh, flipping from his stomach to his back and preparing to get off of the snowy ground. "And yes Nora, I can use my Semblance to make popsicles. I actually have a bunch of my favorite recipes on my scroll." Seeing the girl's eyes light up in glee from that announcement, he couldn't help but smile. "We'll have to make some later on if there's time." It's not like making popsicles was hard, you basically just had to wait for them to freeze. His Semblance just made it so that there wasn't a wait... but that in and of itself was pretty awesome.

And then Jaune blinked, seeing a blur of white falling towards him.

Screaming, from what he noticed.

Immediately, Jaune shot to his feet and prepared to catch what he knew to be another girl falling from the sky.

Unfortunately for both parties involved, Jaune just didn't have enough time to get himself ready.

So when Weiss Schnee landed, it was in the arms of an Arc. However, rather than catching her bridal style as he had intended to, the boy was rocked by the impact of a teenage girl falling from the sky into his arms while he wasn't in a very firm stance.

Which, of course, resulted in him falling flat on his back with the girl atop him.

'I'm unhurt?' Weiss wondered to herself, eyes screwed shut from the dread of impacting the ground. Due to her previous position, holding on to the talon of a Nevermore in flight, she had been unprepared to utilize her glyphs to slow her fall. Between her being caught in such a situation, in addition to a healthy dose of panic, she could do little more than hope her Aura would minimize the damage. 'But Aura wouldn't make this painless. It would, at best, absorb enough of the impact that I could possibly continue the test.' This much she knew.

And yet, despite that, she was unharmed. Opening her eyes slowly, as though scared of what she may find, the Schnee heiress met the eye of the irritating white haired lout from earlier. 'Oh, not _him_.' She found herself thinking, dreading the thought of him commenting on the situation. The moment his mouth began to move she nearly cringed, predicting some line about an "angel falling from heaven" or something similarly buffoonish.

"Are you alright?" He asked, completely blowing her expectations out of the water as his ocean blue eyes regarded her. "I'm glad I was able to catch you, even if it didn't go quite how I planned." A small, warm smile came to his lips.

Noticing at last his protective grip on her, arms circling around her body in such a way as to shield her from the impact as best as possible, Weiss allowed herself to give the boy a bit more credit. He was genuinely concerned for her well being despite their less than stellar relation with one another, and that meant she could at least remain cordial. "Yes." She replied softly, hands placed flat against his chest. "Thank you." With that, Weiss gently pressed against his torso with her hands, conveying the message that she wanted to get up.

Jaune got the gesture, unraveling his arms from her frame and allowing the girl to stand. After a moment, he was surprised to see her extend a hand to assist him. The proud girl was looking away, a tiny flush on her cheeks, as she held her hand to him.

A small grin came to his lips. 'Snow angel is right. Cold and callous at first glance, but it's just to hide the 'imperfections' she thinks she has by making sure no one gets too close.' Jaune kept this thought to himself, though, as he accepted her offered hand and stood with the girl's help. "So how did you end up falling?" He couldn't help but ask.

Judging by the rather irritated glare directed at the cloaked girl who was now hiding behind her sister, Weiss and Ruby had not made strides in improving their relationship with one another.

"That _child_ suggested we hitch a ride on a _Nevermore_! By the time I had come to grasp with the moronic nature of the suggestion she had already attached herself to it's back!" She growled, stomping towards the assembled group and kicking up snow as she went, one finger pointed towards the cowering girl. "Do you have _any_ idea how irresponsible that was? And then you said we should _jump_!" Because that was a perfectly normal thing to do.

"Well it worked, didn't it?" Ruby shot back, briefly peeking her head out from behind Yang only to duck back with a squeak as the heiress' glare intensified.

Weiss was not pleased. "And we're incredibly lucky that it did!" She shouted in reply, stomping her foot again in anger. "Do you have any idea how poorly that could have gone? We could have been _killed_ , Ruby!"

The cape-clad girl shrunk in on herself more. The emphasis of Weiss actually using her name rather than one of the many derogatory names she had come up with made the seriousness of the statement apparent.

And as much as Yang wanted to cut in to defend her sister from the girl... well, she had a very valid point. While the blonde brawler absolutely despised how her sister was being treated by the heiress, there was no reasonable defense for that. Ruby very well could have gotten both of them killed or seriously injured with that stunt.

Jaune, on the other hand, didn't care about that. "That's enough, Weiss." He announced, placing a hand on her shoulder and drawing attention to himself from the other teens.

Seeing everyone's gazes on him, from the baleful glare of Weiss, to the spacey look from Nora and, further, the serious and attentive expression from Ren and Pyrrha, he sighed loudly. "We've got bigger things to deal with. For one, there's a Nevermore circling above us, which is what dropped Ruby and Weiss in the first place." The boy jerked his head to the giant avian Grimm, which had remained silent as a ghost through it's entire flight thus far, making it's presence news to a few of the less attentive members of the crowd... such as Nora. "Secondly, we _are_ still in a hostile environment. Right now, it doesn't matter how you feel about the person next to you; I figure you get along better with them than the Grimm."

A scoff came from the white haired girl, as she pushed the teen's hand from her shoulder. "Fine." She relented after a moment. "We will discuss this at length later, once the test is over." She threw a look to Ruby, but it lacked the vitriol that her earlier glares possessed. "I... am sorry." The apology was genuine, though the delivery made it clear that the girl it came from was not used to apologizing. "I am not the easiest person to get along with, and you are..." The girl paused, before shaking her head and just deciding to say it. "You're a reckless, irresponsible, hyperactive girl... but we are partners. I will attempt to be... nicer, but please cease your attempts to show off."

In a brief moment of pure sincerity, Weiss offered an exasperated smile. For her, it was merely a tilt of the lips slightly to one side. "You've got nothing to prove; the fact that you made it here is proof enough."

And that moment was shattered immediately by the sudden hug that Ruby had captured Weiss into, the heiress first squawking at the sudden invasion of her personal space and then followed by her shouting for her partner to release her. "I KNEW YOU COULD BE NICE!" Ruby wailed, nearly in tears from the simple act of kindness that Weiss had shown her. "I'll be good, then! I'll be the best partner you could ever wish for I promise!"

Someone cleared their throat. This drew the attention of everyone to the deadpan expression of one Lie Ren, who was pointing towards the treeline. "We have a problem." He exclaimed dully, as though he had expected the situation to get worse and this was just the inevitable.

Heads turned towards said location to see a Death Stalker, a giant scorpion-like Grimm, smash it's way from the treeline, felling several trees in the process with it's massive armored claws.

"More than one." Pyrrha chimed in grimly. "The Nevermore is on the move." Above them, the flying Grimm had began to circle more aggressively, tightening it's flight path significantly.

With all of this happening at once, someone needed to take command of the situation.

Surprisingly enough, that someone would be Ruby Rose.

"Alright..." She spoke up suddenly, having released Weiss from her grip a moment earlier, the heiress dusting herself off with a dry expression. "We don't need to fight these things. There isn't any reason for it, our mission is to grab the relics and return to the cliffs." A rare serious expression was on her face, as she pulled Crescent Rose into it's unfolded form and held it before her. "We should just get our stuff and get out."

Scattered nods of approval came from around the circle of teens.

"Yeah, I can get behind that plan." Jaune replied with a smile. "Everyone who needs a relic, go grab one now and let's get the heck out of here shall we?"

A chorus of what could be construed as "yes!" greeted him, with varying degrees of enthusiasm and different wording from almost every member of the merry band of hunters in training.

But even if they had all decided to try and avoid a fight with the fairly high level Grimm, would they actually be able to avoid them for long? The Nevermore, at least, was able to fly. It would be almost impossible to lose if they couldn't ground it somehow.

Shaking his head, the Arc teen decided to just go with it for now. If they ended up having to fight, he would deal with it at that point.

* * *

It was that point, Jaune admitted to himself glibly after only a few minutes of their eight person group running from the Grimm.

The Death Stalker they could outrun. He'd been taking pot-shots at it this entire time with his Semblance, freezing the ground beneath it and otherwise generating obstacles for it to crash into, all around making it's pursuit a pain in the ass. If they had been able to keep that up a bit longer, the creature would have been so far behind them that it may have just lost interest, which would leave them to just deal with the Nevermore which had been taking it's own pot shots at them via gigantic feathers as sharp as swords.

Unfortunately, that would have been too easy.

Coming upon a thin, ancient bridge, covered in cracks and overgrowth and suspended over a wide chasm, the group had the same collective thought.

'Shit.' Practically echoed through eight minds at once, as they took cover by the tall pillars at the entry point to the bridge in order to find refuge from the Nevermore for a moment.

"This is bad." Ren noted, inspecting the field of battle. "The Death Stalker is closing in, but if we cross that bridge we're going to be easy targets for the Nevermore." He spoke simply.

Pyrrha nodded in response. "Ren is correct. If we take that route, we may be able to leave the Death Stalker behind, but there is always the chance that it could end poorly." There was no cover on that bridge, and there was nearly nowhere to maneuver until they reached the circular platform with the very ornamental canopy... which was still probably not good enough cover against a Nevermore.

"Fair enough." Jaune admitted, back pressed against one of the pillars as he gazed towards the oncoming form of the Death Stalker. "Any ideas?"

The silence that greeted that statement was not very reassuring.

"We could try our luck with the bridge." Blake offered after a moment, eyes narrowing in thought. "It may be risky, but if we're prepared for the attack from the Nevermore it may be for the best."

Weiss shook her head. "Without any cover on that bridge, all it will take is a single mistake for one of us to be hit. Even if the strike isn't fatal, that could result in someone falling into the chasm." A very deep chasm, one which they couldn't see the bottom of in the first place. "I don't believe it's worth the risk."

"Could we just try and focus on the Death Stalker and kill it fast, and then worry about the Nevermore?" Yang asked. "The issue here is that we've got two big enemies to deal with; if we can make it one enemy we're gonna be better off."

Ruby cut in suddenly. "Whatever we choose, we have to choose fast!" She nodded towards the fast approaching Death Stalker.

Everyone was indecisive.

Jaune took the lead. "To hell with it!" He announced, stepping forward. "I never thought I'd say this, but I like Yang's plan!" That felt incredibly weird to say. "Ruby, you and Weiss should pair up with Pyrrha and Ren to hold off the Nevermore." Between the speed and long ranged ability of Ruby and Ren they should be able to adequately distract the Nevermore, while their respective partners in Weiss and Pyrrha should have the ability to defend the two of them adequately.

Seeing that the four in question had decided to cooperate with his plan, Jaune continued on. "Nora, you and me are going to go with Blake and Yang and kill the Death Stalker as fast as possible. Alright?" With the Death Stalker, they needed to hit it hard. Extremely hard. It wasn't as fast as the Nevermore, and not nearly as mobile, but it was a threat nonetheless. If they could neutralize it then they could focus everyone's efforts on the Nevermore.

So to deal with it, he wanted the heaviest hitters available; Nora and Yang. Himself and Blake would provide much the same role as Weiss and Pyrrha, making sure their partners could do the job they were assigned properly.

Any questions anyone had with that arrangement had to be withheld, seeing as how there simply wasn't any time to debate any further. With that in mind, the teens all put their faith in Jaune's strategy.

"Got it!" Ruby replied, quickly darting off to the right and taking a pot shot of her own at the Nevermore, drawing it's attention as it circled.

Weiss nodded, leaping after her partner, accompanied by Ren and Pyrrha, both of whom leveled their own ranged weaponry on the enormous avian.

"NORA SMASH!" The orangette yelled in confirmation of her own agreement, slamming her hammer on to the ground and rocketing towards the Death Stalker.

Following just behind her was a second explosion as Yang propelled herself towards the Grimm, one gauntlet-clad fist reared back in what was sure to be a vicious punch.

The Death Stalker reacted to Nora's charge by whipping it's stinger at her, something she avoided by twisting midair. The stinger flew past her, and Nora flew past the Grimm before shifting her hammer back into a grenade launcher and firing a grenade at it's back side, right at the base of it's tail.

The Grimm screeched at the attack, raising a claw to knock the approaching form of Yang away even as it began to twist to face Nora once again.

A loud clang rang out as Blake diverted the claw strike with her blade, allowing Yang a free punch into the Death Stalker's face.

It struck almost dead center, propelling the beast back a few feet and resulting in a furious cry.

A single spine of ice, much thinner than the normal spikes generated by Jaune, was sent forward with precise aim, impacting one of the Death Stalker's eyes. It pierced the eye, but did not penetrate deeply enough for a kill.

Jaune frowned, disappointed but not surprised. In order to get such a precise shot, he sacrificed a fair bit of power.

It was a good opening to the battle, though. Within thirty seconds they had managed to take an eye.

However, now the Death Stalker was well and truly pissed off. "Alright, we made it mad." Jaune called out, frowning at the sight of the beast sending Nora flying with a tail swipe, even as Yang's follow-up punch was blocked by a claw.

Blake appeared on the Death Stalker's back, prompting a response from the creature. It's tail flashed forward, poised to run the dark haired girl through.

She dodged, of course, landing a slash towards the stinger on it's tail before being forced to retreat from it's body, landing near Jaune.

"It's shell is tough." She muttered blandly, displeased with this information. "I had hoped it would be fooled into stinging itself, but no such luck." Unfortunate that it was able to keep from stabbing itself. More so that the armored chitin was so sturdy. Her skill set was more geared towards quick strikes to vulnerable areas, and this was one foe that was rather lacking on that front.

"It was worth a shot." Jaune agreed, eyeing the creature warily. Her strike to it's stinger didn't seem to have caused any notable damage, and the slices down it's back weren't worth anything in that regard either.

The Death Stalker rushed forward after a moment, and Jaune rushed to meet it, generating a block of ice the size of his body. The icy block floated at his side as he ran, one hand reached out as though to keep hold of it while the other firmly held his staff. With a bit more concentration, he molded the bottom of the block into a dull point.

He would have been able to make it sharper with more time, but time wasn't a resource he had in spades when rushing towards an angry Grimm.

Jaune jumped into the air, dodging the claw swipes from the monstrous scorpion. As he had expected, it attacked with it's tail, sending the glowing stinger at his airborne form.

It was deflected by Nora, who batted the stinger away like it was a baseball, whipping the tail backwards.

A smirk formed on Jaune's lips as he saw that, eagerly directing the ice-block to drop from the sky on to the exposed back of the scorpion Grimm.

It landed with a crash, nearly buckling the multi-legged creature beneath the sudden weight, drawing a furious roar from the creature. The bottom of the block had chipped a bit from the impact, but it had dazed the Death Stalker long enough for Yang to land another ferocious punch to it's head.

This time, rather than attacking it head on Yang had performed an uppercut, empowered by a blast from her gauntlet.

Her strength was enough to raise the creature's front several feet from the ground, an impressive feat considering the size of the Death Stalker. The icy block fell to the wayside as the monster struggled to regain it's footing.

In addition to this, Blake had taken the opportunity to strike at the vulnerable eyes of the creature with her ranged attack. One of the bullets found it's mark, removing another eye from the creature.

So that left them with two eyes down on the creature but no other apparent damage done to it. Which was just peachy. They were hurting it, that was for sure, but it wasn't accumulating fast enough for Jaune's taste.

The young Arc chanced a look over towards Ruby and the others, to see how they were fairing.

Much to his relief, the other four seemed to be having no trouble at all distracting the Nevermore. They were just running about, taking shots at it whenever it's attention wavered, and all around making themselves a nuisance. If they could keep that up, then this situation was going to be well in hand once the four of them were done with the Death Stalker. None of the group fighting the Nevermore were exerting themselves to damage it, content to keep it's attention drawn.

There was something satisfying about seeing a plan working without reality making it's objections clear.

Drawing his eyes back towards the current fight, Jaune let loose a squawk of surprise as someone was tossed into him, sending the two of them rolling a few feet.

After a second, Jaune steadied himself and looked down to see that Nora had been thrown into him. After rolling several feet Jaune had managed to pull himself into a crouch, Nora kneeling in front of him with his arms circled around her.

He'd sort of instinctively wrapped his arms around whatever hit him, assuming it to be one of his allies. And it was.

"Thanks for catching me, Jauney!" Nora exclaimed cheerfully, those eternally bright eyes of hers regarding him over her shoulder, the girl completely unconcerned at having been flung into him. "You're way more comfortable than that big rock pillar I thought I was gonna hit!"

"Glad to help, Nora." He chuckled, rising to his feet and helping her along.

Yang and Blake were currently dealing with the Death Stalker, Blake baiting it into striking at her and Yang taking advantage of each miss to land a punishing blow on it.

Nora hopped once in place, before dashing back into the fray with her hammer held high. "It's clobberin' time!" She shouted as a battle cry.

Jaune frowned, observing the fight. They weren't really accomplishing much, as he'd seen before. The Death Stalker was a large, heavily armored Grimm. Unlike an Ursa it didn't have any real weak points to exploit, it's whole body being covered in that thick carapace. The underbelly was also lower to the ground and fairly difficult to get to, which was rendered almost irrelevant when one realized that the blasted thing was only marginally less well protected from below than above.

It's eyes _were_ weak points, but their position in between it's massive pincers and in a perfect location for it to sting with it's tail made them less desirable targets. Not to mention they would have to dig really deep to actually deal fatal damage through an eye socket, something none of their weapons were suited for.

Blake and himself had the best chance of hitting the target, their attacks being more precise. But the issue was a lack of stopping power.

Yang and Nora had the opposite problem. It was nearly impossible for them to make their attacks in a single location as small as an eye.

Jaune frowned. They needed to neutralize it's stinger. That would be the best way to handle the situation. That stinger was deadly, and furthermore it had to be weaker than the thick carapace on it's back. The point where the glowing stinger met the inky black chitin of the Death Stalker's tail was the best place to strike, but that still left the issue of actually killing the damn thing.

How could they get past the Grimm's natural armor?

Suddenly, Jaune felt a presence at his side, interrupting his thought process. "We're not hurting it much." Blake admitted, having slipped away from the conflict for a moment to regroup with him. "The only real wound I've seen on it at all has been a single chip in it's carapace, right on it's back. It's about the size of a fist, but that's all the noticeable damage we've done." She was worried this thing was going to take more than they had, especially considering they still had to worry about the Nevermore. "What do you think?" The dark haired girl asked.

"I... think I have a plan." Jaune replied after a moment, eyes widening at the realization. Oh, this was a horrible idea but it could work. "First, we need to focus on removing that stinger." He spoke with confidence, eyes locking on the glowing weapon attached to the Grimm's tail. "If you guys can keep it distracted, I think I can handle that."

"And then?" Blake pressed, wanting to know how he intended to finish the creature.

Jaune looked towards her with a glint in his eyes that made the bow-wearing girl a bit wary. "Grimm may be monsters... but monsters still bleed." And if it bled, if it had a circulatory system at all... well, it rather needed that blood to flow. And what better way to prevent that than turning the liquid blood into a solid?

This was stupidly risky and he hated himself for coming up with it, but the more Jaune thought about it the more likely he found this to be a winning plan. His power carried much easier through a medium. He could freeze water much faster than he could create ice, so blood would likely be similar. He just needed to actually get in contact with it's blood.

Judging by her incredulous stare, Blake had either figured out what he was up to or just thought he was insane. Possibly both.

But the girl said nothing, just looking back towards the battle. "I'll tell them to try and get the stinger still so you can hit it." She announced after a moment.

"That's all I ask." Jaune returned, holding his hands together. "Keep it occupied for a bit. I think I can take care of the tail if I do this right."

Blake nodded, before dashing back into the fight and relaying his orders.

Judging by the change of tactics, the other girls had agreed to listen to him once again. Instead of actively attempting to hit the creature, they were now warily ducking about and deflecting it's blows.

That made things easier, Jaune had to admit. "Alright... form the circle." He mumbled to himself, ice generating between his palms once again and flattening into a disk. "Thicken it up some, but keep the edges sharp." He moved his hands further apart, giving room for the disk to thicken. "Expand it's size..." The disk quickly grew from inches to feet, reaching the size of a manhole cover, though the outside still remained compressed into a fine edge.

He grinned, though it was restrained somewhat as he noted that it was now time for the real test; actually hitting the Death Stalker.

Using his Semblance, Jaune forced the icy discus to spin. More and more, circling around at high speed, the spinning construct attached to his fingertips.

Placing his hand behind him as though lining up for a throw, Jaune judged the distance one more time before waiting for an opening.

The desired opening came soon; after a failed strike at Blake, one of many he might add, the creature's tail went back to it's usual position. It always did that, returning to that spot after each thrust.

With that in mind, Jaune lined up his shot and loosed the disk just moments after the creature had missed it's attack.

It's tail slid back into place just in time for the icy disk to meet the juncture between it's stinger and tail, severing the stinger instantly from the sheer force at which the projectile had been launched.

The glowing stinger flew off several yards, landing on the ground nearby and piercing into the dirt. The momentum that it still carried had taken it that far, a testament to just how quickly the creature could retract it's tail.

"Oh, that was freaking _sweet_ snowball!" Yang exclaimed, grinning widely at the sight of the Death Stalker sans it's most dangerous weapon. That was the first real bit of damage they had done to the thing, and it was a huge hit to it's strength. Now all they had to do was deal with it's claws.

Yeah, the Death Stalker could still swipe at them with it's tail or try and smash with the blunted end, but Aura made that less of a threat. Without that stinger it was nowhere near as big a threat as it had been.

"Glad you liked it Yang." Jaune called back, moving closer to the fight and sending a few ice-spikes at the frenzied Grimm, just to piss it off even more. They shattered harmlessly against it's thick shell, but served to get it's attention.

The Death Stalker took off in a mad dash towards the Arc teen, proving itself intelligent enough to recognize who had fired the shot that removed it's stinger. Now it was barreling towards him as fast as it was able to, a respectable speed, but not nearly fast enough to catch him of guard.

And so when it got close enough for a pair of claw strikes, Jaune avoided them by leaping onto it's back.

Stingerless, the Grimm smashed the blunted end of it's tail towards him in an attempt to dislodge the boy from it's back.

Jaune moved to the side, though not far enough to be thrown from the creature.

No, instead he had pressed both of his hands up against the tail of the monster as it came down, creating a thick layer of ice on it.

And so when the Death Stalker attempted to pull back it's tail for another round, it met an unexpected amount of resistance.

He'd pretty much glued the Grimm's tail to it's back.

So now that left Jaune Arc on the back of a very angry Death Stalker, which was now flailing around furiously in an attempt to remove the teenager from it's back in addition to straining against the icy prison that had captured it's tail.

"Guys, try and keep it still!" Jaune shouted, nearly losing his footing. "I'm gonna need a minute but I can kill this thing!" Or so he hoped.

"You sure Jauney?" Nora called out from below, tilting her head curiously at the sight of her partner stumbling on the Grimm's back. And here she had thought that no one else appreciated the idea of riding Grimm for fun.

"YES!" He called back, again nearly falling over. He managed to get down to a kneeling position, eyes darting about for the hole Blake had mentioned earlier.

The Grimm's back was large and covered entirely in a black chitinous armor, and he managed to spot the chipped piece after a moment.

Glancing back towards the creature's tail, he released a small sigh of relief to see it still restrained. With that in mind, he quickly crawled his way towards the hole he was looking for after a few seconds.

"FIRE IN THE HOLE!" A shout drew his attention, even as the Death Stalker shuddered beneath him and stilled for a moment.

Jaune wasn't entirely certain, but he figured Yang had just smashed the thing on the head again. Good for her.

As soon as he reached the spot, the snowy haired teen grinned widely. It was a chip in the thick armor, leading to a much less protected layer beneath and, finally, the soft flesh and blood of the Grimm.

He generated a spike of ice; as thick as the hole would allow for, and about twelve inches long. Without hesitation, he drove the spike down into the wound.

A furious screech from the Death Stalker let him know that his efforts were appreciated.

Jaune was far from done, though. He yanked the improvised stake out from the creature in a squirt of blood, before shoving his right hand down into the open wound.

It was, in short, disgusting. He felt all kinds of squishy bits and there was blood all over his hand and ew ew ew ew gross!

'Snap out of it...' He thought, shaking his head even as he grimaced. 'Time to see if this works.'

And with that, he called upon his Semblance.

The warm, squishy mess surrounding his hand... it began to cool. His power quickly spread from the entry wound, freezing tendrils of invisible energy rooting themselves deeper and deeper into the monster.

Moments later, it was cold. The Grimm, sensing that something was wrong, increased it's struggles to remove it's tail from the icy prison Jaune had constructed.

Jaune carried on, eyes glowing a pale blue color as he pushed more and more of his power through his arm and into the creature.

Blood, organs, flesh, anything. Whatever he could find, he would _freeze_. Inhaling once, the boy held his breath for just a moment.

When he released the breath he had been holding, another surge of power shot forth into the creature, spurring the process on.

He could feel it. The warmth inside of the Grimm, it was steadily leaving, replaced by the icy cold he had become intimately familiar with over the previous year.

The three girls who had been holding the creature off were watching with cautious eyes as the Death Stalker slowed, before stilling entirely.

"What's he doing up there?" Yang asked curiously, still in a defensive stance but less concerned with the creature than previously. "The Death Stalker stopped moving. It's like it's..." Her eyes went wide as the realization hit her. "Oh no way."

Blake nodded. "I think he's freezing it from the inside out." She explained for the benefit of Nora.

Said girl looked towards her with wide eyes, before turning her gaze back onto the large Grimm. "Oh that is so _cool_!" Nora squealed in excitement. "He's making a Grimmsicle!"

"More like a giant ice sculpture." Yang retorted, seeing the first signs of frost creep over the Death Stalker's remaining eyes.

"Oooh, d'ya think we could make a business out of it? Grimm ice-sculptures, super detailed, ultra life-like!" Nora was giggling wildly at the thought of Jaune running a business like that. "What should the name be?" She asked, turning to the other two seriously.

Blake and Yang just looked at her oddly. "Y'know when they die they turn into smoke right?" Yang asked.

Nora's face fell at that. "Oh yeah. I forgot." She pouted. Darn, there went that idea.

After a few more minutes, a voice called out from the back of the Grimm. "Hey Nora?"

"Yes, Jauney?" The girl called back to her partner.

"Wanna smash it?" He asked simply, even though he already knew the answer.

"Do you really need to ask, Jauney?" Nora returned chidingly, waggling a finger even though his back was turned and he couldn't see it.

A chuckle came from the boy as he stood from the statuesque form of the Grimm. "Go ahead, then." Jaune replied, hopping off of the creature and steadying himself with his branch. "Hoo, man. That was a rush." His entire arm was covered in slush-like Grimm blood. That was... ew. He shook the limb off for a moment, sending the blackish-red slush flying about.

"KERSMASH!" This shout from Nora was accompanied by the sound of shattering ice, as well as the expected black smoke that came from a Grimm's death. "Jauney, your powers are a~maaaaaaaazing!" She cheered, quickly skipping over to her icy partner and tossing one arm over his shoulder. "I can just tell, we're gonna be bestest friends!" She frowned. "Can I have two bestest friends? Cause Ren is already my bestest friend, but you're awesome too. Can I do that or is it like just one per person?" Nora was seemingly working out the mechanics of this in her head.

Jaune sighed. "How 'bout Ren is your bestest friend, since you've known him longer, and I can just be the best friend?" He was operating under the assumption that adding the "est" to best was meant to imply additional... bestness? Oh he had no clue, but as long as Nora bought it things would be okay.

The gears were turning in Nora's mind. "Yep." She nodded lightly, eyes closed in a sort of tranquil state. "That'll work. Jauney is my best friend, but Ren is the bestest because we've been together since childhood." After another moment, her right eye opened and a tiny frown slipped to her lips. "But not together-together, even though Renny is handsome, cuz' that'd be weird." She amended their "togetherness" so as to prevent misunderstandings.

Nodding, deciding to just go along with it, Jaune lifted one hand to point towards the others in their group. "Right. Well now we need to deal with that."

Nora's eyes followed his pointer finger to spot the Nevermore circling around nearby, attempting to skewer the other four who had been distracting it thus far. "Oh. Yeah. That." She had kind of forgotten that there was a Nevermore, which meant that the people dealing with it were doing a really good job she supposed.

"So what's the plan for that one, snowball?" Yang asked curiously as she and Blake walked up to the partners.

Jaune frowned. "Well, first we gotta regroup with the others... and then ask them. Because I have no idea how we're taking down that Nevermore." It could fly and was able to withstand gunfire from a high caliber sniper rifle, regular gunfire, and dust barrages without a scratch. Nevermores were apparently like flying tanks.

Blake quirked a brow. "You've seriously got nothing?" She found it rather hard to believe that the guy who had just stuck his hand into a Death Stalker to freeze it from the inside out was without any sort of plan.

"I guess I could try and weigh it down?" Jaune mumbled, before his eyes lit up. "Oooh, no, I have an idea!" It was, again, a bad idea that was probably going to work if only due to the simplicity of it. "If I can get on that thing I can try to mess with it's wings with my Semblance." Freezing it's wings over would make a real mess of things for that monster.

Yang pointed out the obvious flaw with this plan. "And you're getting on it... how?"

"And that, my dear Yang, is the million dollar question." The icy Arc replied with a wide grin, making his snark blatantly clear.

"Right." Blake cut in with a dull tone. "We should regroup with them."

The three remaining teens nodded. "Yeah, let's go." Jaune said, eyeing the Nevermore with a sigh. "Hopefully nothing else goes wrong."

With that said, the four of them began to make their way over towards the site of the battle with the Nevermore.

Ruby, Pyrrha, Ren, and Weiss had all done a very good job of distracting the creature. Not only had it's attention not wavered from them for a moment, it had also been successfully lured a very long ways off from the location of their fight, closer to the treeline.

As they approached, Blake and Jaune noticed the tactical advantage provided by the trees. They were able to duck into the forest slightly to break the Grimm's view of them, allowing another to draw it further away before they slipped into the trees themselves.

Ren and Ruby were the primary decoys.

Ruby was unmatched in straight-line speed, zipping from spot to spot and sniping the Nevermore whenever it seemed to lose track of her. As a matter of fact, it appeared that one of her shots had even taken one of the right eyes from the great beast.

Ren, on the other hand, was agile in a way that Ruby couldn't replicate. While he couldn't make his way from one place to another as quickly as the hooded girl, it was certain that he could do it without being struck. Whether by the feathers of the monster falling from the sky, or the creature itself diving for a talon strike or attempting to snap him in it's beak, Lie Ren was entirely untouched. He moved like water, flowing around the attacks masterfully.

As far as decoys went, those two were doing their jobs splendidly. And their respective partners were also performing admirably.

Pyrrha was making it hell for the Nevermore to actually concentrate on her partner or Ruby, perhaps one reason why he was so easily avoiding it's assault. Very rarely were her shots actually striking the beast, but they flew just inside of it's field of vision and caused momentary distractions each and every time it attempted to rear back for it's feather raining attack.

On the other hand, Weiss was hindering the creature in much the same way Jaune had intended to; it's body had patches of ice here and there, clearly having been either lucky shots or very rare attacks that were certain to hit. They were scattered about the creature's body, not concentrated in any particular place, but it was clear that the beast was feeling the effects of the ice weighing it's body down.

So the Nevermore was missing a single eye of four, and it's body had patches of ice across it, but it was otherwise unharmed. Clearly the four engaging the beast had taken their role as a distraction seriously, seeing as how none of them were even particularly winded from the effort.

They had conserved their strength for when the others could reconvene with them.

The Nevermore reared back once again, ignoring the shot Pyrrha took at it's face. This time, it merely tilted itself back forward and launched into a dive, barreling towards Ren at high speed.

Ren was prepared, though, fully intending to dodge the divebomb.

Just as the creature got close to the ground, however, it was forced to regain altitude or be skewered upon large spikes of ice that rose from the ground, courtesy of Jaune as he came close enough to interact with the battle going on.

Nodding towards him in thanks, Ren took aim and unleashed a few controlled bursts into the hide of the Grimm as it rose once more. "The Death Stalker is taken care of, then?" He asked, seeking confirmation even though he was quite certain it had been dealt with.

"Yep!" Nora replied happily, skipping over to his side and firing one of her grenades into the Grimm's path as it ascended, coating the surprised monster's head in an explosion that seemed to stagger it midair. "Jauney made it into a Grimmsicle and he even let me smash it afterwards, and it was all like-" She attempted to mimic the sound of shattering ice with her mouth, failing horribly but not being concerned with that. "And then it was all-" Now she made a wooshing noise, waving her arms as if this somehow made it more clear that she was talking about smoke. "So then we came over here."

Ren nodded, as though everything she just said had made perfect sense to him. "Excellent." He replied. "The Nevermore, as you might have seen, has taken minor damage with exception to it's right eye being destroyed." The serious teen reported, eyeing the creature as it began to circle once more, it's own red eyes looking over the newly arrived enemies.

Blake was the one to reply. "Has it done anything unexpected?" She asked.

Understanding her concern, Ren offered a smile at the question. "No, it's behavior is fairly linear; this Grimm seems to possess limited intelligence." Some older Grimm were incredibly dangerous because, unlike their younger brethren, they had begun to learn and think. Going from instinct to rudimentary planning skills, and then further to a sort of animal cunning mixed with nearly human ingenuity...

Truly, these Grimm were a terrifying foe simply because they possessed a weapon almost equal to that of humanity's greatest asset; their mind.

Thankfully, this was not one of them. And Blake let her relief to that be known with an almost inaudible sigh.

"Right!" Yang chimed in after a moment. "So what now?" She asked, inspecting the battlefield and finding it far from her preferred fight. Flying enemies were obnoxious because she couldn't just punch them to death.

Pyrrha, who had just made her way over to them, replied to her question. "For the moment, we cannot strike the Nevermore unless it swoops down to our level." She began, shifting her rifle back into it's spear form. "None of our ranged attacks have left any noticeable damage, with exception to Ruby managing to graze it's eye."

"On the other hand," Weiss began as she stepped from behind the Mistral Champion. "I've been able to slow it somewhat with ice." She frowned at the creature, which was still circling above them as they regrouped. "It is, regrettably, the most I have been able to accomplish thus far."

A red blur made itself known as the final member of their party arrived. "Hey guys, I'm glad you took care of the Death Stalker so quick because I'm almost out of ammunition for my baby." By her estimate, Ruby had about twenty shots left. Considering how she often used the momentum of her firing to propel herself around, that was a woefully small amount of ammo. "That stupid bird's feathers are tougher than a Bullhead's hull!" She griped.

Ren nodded in agreement. "My bullets aren't even staggering it, really." He noted with a frown. "If I could get close, perhaps I could damage it more... but I can't fly."

"The thing with the ice spikes was a good idea, snowball." Yang noted, frowning before throwing a punch towards the Nevermore in the sky. "If we can ground that thing, I am gonna break it."

Jaune took a moment to think. "How hard was it to shoot the Nevermore's eye, Ruby?" He asked, wondering if she could replicate that feat.

The girl blinked, before placing her hand to her chin and attempting to remember just which of her shots had actually hit it's eye. After a moment, she shook her head. "It was pure luck." She admitted sullenly. "I was aiming at it's head in general, just trying to distract it. Somehow, it ended up getting hit in the eye." She shrugged. "Haven't managed anything else like that since."

"How often does it dive?" Jaune, scrapping the idea of blinding the creature and leaving, focused on the aspect relevant to them. If they could only really strike when it came down, they had to make it count. If the creature didn't come close enough for them to attack, they might as well just keep running until it got bored.

"Very." Weiss chimed in. "It seems to use it's feather attack rarely, now. Perhaps it is limited in uses?"

That was good news. "Alright. Does anyone think they can ground the thing for a bit? Just a few seconds is all we'll need, we're going to try and get hurt one of it's wings." Jaune slipped back into the position of authority, eyeing the creature warily as it continued to fly. He despised having an enemy that could set the pace of battle like this.

"I believe I can restrain the Nevermore." The Schnee heiress volunteered after a moment. "It will be tricky, and the timing will need to be very precise, but I believe I can succeed."

A round of nods came from the assembled teens. "Alright. I'm going to try and play bait this time." Jaune explained. "Just let me keep it's attention, don't do anything to make it worry about you guys. Once it dives, I'm gonna try and disrupt it again like I did before and that's when Weiss needs to try and hold it." He sighed deeply. "I have never had to deal with a Nevermore before, but I'm pretty sure it's going to be a lot easier to fight on the ground than in the air. The _moment_ it's grounded, everyone needs to hit it's wing as hard as they can. If we can keep it from getting aloft again it's as good as dead."

"You sure you want to be the bait?" Blake asked curiously. "There are others better suited for it." She could abuse her Semblance to avoid taking a hit, Ren had proven himself to be incredibly good at dodging, Ruby was faster than all of them, and Pyrrha had a shield that would allow her to absorb most of anything she couldn't dodge. Jaune seemed ill suited to the task.

But that smirk that slipped onto his lips made it seem like he thought otherwise. "I'll be fine, but thanks for the concern." He chuckled a bit.

Shrugging, the dark haired teen let the matter drop.

"Shall we begin?" Ren asked, nodding towards the Nevermore that seemed ready to strike. "Whoa, Nora!" He yelped suddenly.

"Do lets!" Nora shouted, locking one arm around the green-clad youth and forcibly dragging the startled teen off to the side. "Good luck, Jauney! Don't get eaten!"

The others followed suit, allowing Jaune to separate from the group.

Seeing the Nevermore's attention begin to follow the larger group, Jaune formed a large javelin of ice and lobbed it towards the monster.

It's attention was grabbed, but only momentarily.

That... kind of ticked Jaune off, actually. And so he formed more javelins.

A lot more.

And then, he started launching them.

One struck it's face, shattering into pieces as the creature shifted it's head to regard him once more.

Jaune liked to think that the sight of three dozen more of the icy javelins caused it's remaining three eyes to widen in surprise, but that was likely just wishful thinking.

The amount of damage done was honestly quite minimal. Each and every projectile that hit it's mark, and many of them flew wide he would admit, shattered against the creature.

However, it did notably react to the barrage. Unlike before, it now seemed to regard Jaune as a legitimate threat and was not concerned with the remaining teenagers who had darted off into the treeline.

Seeing the Grimm's attention on him, Jaune smirked and flipped it the bird just to be funny before throwing another icy spear towards it.

This continued for a few minutes, the Grimm seemingly wary of getting close to him. Perhaps it was intelligent enough to know that he had been the one to create the spikes in it's path earlier.

As it didn't seem to want to get close, Jaune figured it was a matter of time before the black feathers rained once more.

His suspicions were proven right a few moments later, as the great beast reared back with a screech and began to fire it's signature attack.

Jaune frowned, before erecting a thick wall of ice in front of him. However, he was certain it wouldn't hold. As such, instead of staying behind the wall Jaune tapped into his Semblance once more and a powerful gust of wind sent him rocketing away from the wall just as it took it's first hit and shattered beneath the crushing force.

The debris kicked up by the attack left the area clouded and hazy. With one of it's eyes gone, Jaune doubted the Nevermore could really see whether or not he had dodged.

As such, he took about ten seconds to create a much large, much thicker spear. The others had been about as wide around as his arm, this one was the size of his torso in diameter.

It would fly a bit slower, but this one would probably do more damage.

And so, Jaune let it fly with a yell of effort, sending the sharp projectile careening towards the face of the Nevermore as it righted itself in the air.

It struck the beast dead center, shattering on the mask.

However, this time it had a notable result. The Grimm shrieked in either pain or anger, before diving towards the snowy-haired teen on the ground.

Glad to see it finally coming in close, Jaune formed another wall of ice before releasing a blast of wind from his feet and leaping high into the air the moment the creature slammed into his barrier.

It broke the wall easily, but the momentum it had built was slowed slightly. Enough so that Weiss was able to pin her rapier through one of it's tail feather, a thick track of ice creeping from both and sticking the Nevermore to the ground.

However, that didn't stop the creature entirely. No, instead it simply ripped a chunk from the ground.

So the Nevermore was not glued to the ground as she had hoped, however it did end up faltering from the sudden weight in addition to it's momentum being staggered, causing the creature to fall to the ground.

The remaining six hunters in training struck as one.

As it was laid out on the ground, the creature's wings were easy targets. All six of them had agreed to focus their efforts on a single wing in an attempt to cripple the giant Grimm before it could get airborne once more.

Nora leaped into the air, before bringing her hammer down in a furious strike that could shatter stone. "NORA SMASH!" The girl announced, grinning widely as the hammerhead impacted the creature. After a second, an explosion rung out and the girl could be heard cheering loudly as the blast propelled her away.

In the seconds following Nora's attack, Yang and Blake unleashed a coordinated assault of slashes and fist strikes upon the creature's wing.

Yang raised both hands above her head for a hammer strike, dropping the fists onto the creature's bone right in the same spot Nora had struck, before drawing her hands back and punching both forward for a pair of gunshots that sent her hurtling away as well.

Seeing the blonde flying off, Pyrrha drove her spear towards the noticeably damaged part of the Nevermore's wing, attempting to drive it into the bone.

The spear penetrated, amazingly enough. No one but Pyrrha was aware of just how she had managed to generate that kind of force, nor how she was able to remove the weapon a moment later in order to allow her own partner his chance to strike.

Seeing the obvious weak point in the Grimm's body, Ren nearly grinned. Soon, he landed on the creature's wing and drew back one hand, palm open.

As his open palm met the wounded wing, pressing direction over the damaged bone, a ring of pink Aura pulsed from his hand.

He jumped off of the creature's wing, landing gracefully on his feet just as the appendage _exploded_.

The wounded portion of the wing had been somewhere near the center of it's wingspan.

There was now nothing beyond that point, as the wing had been completely severed.

Briefly, the teen allowed himself to feel smug. It wasn't often that one was able to do something like that to a Nevermore, after all. But he quickly reigned it in, the usual dispassionate gaze quickly coming back to his face even as the others gaped at the feat.

Hearing the sound of something landing softly next to him, Ren turned to be treated to the sight of a wide-eyed Jaune Arc. "... dude. That was absolutely _awesome_!" The teen shouted, a wide grin on his lips.

Ren chuckled a bit. "Thank you. But we should finish it off before celebrating."

Jaune blinked, before nodding. "Right, you're right, but wow. That was just... wow." Jaune didn't even know people could _do_ that. Was it a Semblance or what? He'd literally just made the Nevermore's wing explode.

That was some serious damage to the creature. It was now one hundred percent unable to take to the air.

Managing to shuffle to it's feet, the grievously wounded Grimm turned it's baleful eyes upon them once more and loosed a furious screech. It's sole remaining wing flapped, sending a thinner barrage of the black feathers flying.

However, this salvo was much less intimidating. The quantity of feathers hadn't decreased by just half; no, with only a single wing and grounded as it was, the Nevermore was only capable of a pathetically underpowered version of it's signature attack. The feathers themselves weren't moving nearly as fast as before, and they were dodged or blocked easily by the teens.

The icy shield Jaune generated had caught all of the feathers threatening himself and Ren, something the other boy gave a grateful nod for. Tapping it lightly with the butt of his staff, the teen eyed the wounded Grimm carefully as the ice shattered. "Alright, so how should we finish it off?" He asked.

Ren looked towards him briefly, before turning his gaze off to the side. "... I believe Ruby has that under control." He noted blandly.

This drew Jaune's attention towards the forest line, all the way across the clearing, where he saw a small red figure. What was she doing all the way over there?

That question was answered soon enough as the red figure began to move, leaving a storm of rose petals behind her.

"Holy crap Ruby is fast..." The Arc teen mumbled to himself, eyes wide as the girl dashed across the flat ground at ridiculous speed. "But what is she doing?" He wondered, not expecting an answer until the girl reached her target.

"She's gonna kill it, snowball." Yang chimed in, jogging up beside him just as the Nevermore finally realized someone was coming at it. "This is gonna be good!"

Jaune wasn't going to comment on the fact that he had kind of assumed that much. He'd been sort of hoping for specifics.

It was at that point that Ruby had finally reached the Nevermore, which had barely been able to react to her presence.

She darted past the creature, her scythe held behind her.

The Nevermore's neck was caught by the blade, cold metal digging into it's feathers and flesh.

And then Ruby kept moving, her sheer momentum dragging the great beast down onto it's back and pulling it along with her as she ran towards the chasm, a path of rose petals left in her wake.

No, not towards the chasm itself Jaune realized. She was aiming for one of the thick stone pillars.

Oh, now he understood.

After another few seconds, the youngest member of their group dashed past the pillar, scant few feet from the edge of the cliff itself, before being caught by her scythe.

All of the momentum from her rush had just been caught by her scythe, which caught on to the pillar. And between the weapon and the stone, there was a Nevermore's neck.

Not anymore, though.

With so much built momentum, meeting a sudden stop like that... the blade cut straight through the beast, sending it's head flying from it's body even as the creature began to dissipate into smoke.

And Ruby, to her credit, just flipped her scythe back into it's compact form, reholstered it at her back, and turned to give them all a wide, innocent smile as they began to celebrate their victory.

Jaune found himself grinning. 'I think I'm really going to like it here.' He couldn't help but think to himself, as he watched Yang dart over to her little sister and pull the girl into another of her suffocating hugs.

And then Ren, who was standing beside him still, collapsed to the ground.

"Oh crap Ren!"

* * *

AN: So that happened. This is basically just an "action chapter" I suppose, no real plot progression. Jaune shows off a bit of his ability to think, the fights go a bit differently, and there you go. Ren got to make something go boom, so that's always a plus. Has anyone ever noticed that he's literally done that trick one time and then never again?

Anyhoo. Next chapter is team selection and all that jazz.

On to that story idea I mentioned:

Essentially, RWBY+Pokemon=Cool was my thought process, because I legit just thought of Jaune standing next to a dopey looking Dragonite like "Uh... I got this?" while patting the gentle giant's belly.

The story would be Jaune centric, again. But this time, with the existence of Pokemon to help bolster his combat ability, Jaune would actually be able to get into Beacon normally; no need for criminal shenanigans or anything of the sort, and a Jaune that feels like he fits in better than he did in canon because his pokemon, which he had trained since hatching it from an egg, was combat worthy enough to offset his lacking skills. He'd feel more like he earned his position at Beacon by merit of being a good trainer, though he'll readily admit to Dragonite doing most of the heavy lifting.

I've given each character three different types that they typically use and have planned out _starting_ teams for a lot of the characters, notably teams RWBY, JNPR, and CFVY, as well as Roman, Neo, and Cinder, with solid ideas who other teachers would get. All of the students would begin with about four pokemon total, three of which are combat trained and ready with a fourth that is slightly less powerful and still being trained. They're not starting out their journey, they're fighting for survival. Jaune, in the theme of being an underdog, has only really got Dragonite as a high level poke with two other pokemon on his team at the start. The Arcs are intended to be something similar to a Dragon Tamer family.

Anyhoo. Big thing; the Grimm. They're Pokemon, but violently mutated by Grimm Energy, something that naturally occurs and forces them into a feral state of hostility that varies from creature to creature, leading to giant sized Grimm of pokemon that were normally smaller, such as an enormous Grimm Fearow in place of the Nevermore and a Grimm Drapion rather than a Death Stalker. Once infested by Grimm Energy, one can either perform a lengthy purification ritual on the restrained Grimm-mon, or kill it and put the poor thing out of it's misery, where it will simply evaporate into smoke like a regular Grimm from the show.

There are still wild pokemon, but they tend to be much stronger if out in the Grimmlands beyond the four kingdom's walls, or more docile if withing them. Outside the walls, it's a dog-eat-dog world and they need to be strong to survive; within the kingdom's walls, even wild pokemon have become friendly with humans, understanding that they are one of the largest factors keeping the Grimm away.

One huge thing this gives as an author is a positively massive variety of enemies for the heroes to fight. There are like seven hundred+ pokemon, and I can make each and every one into a Grimm. This provides a lot of potential for interesting encounters.

Legendary pokemon are another thing that can be taken into account to add extra interests for the bad guys or good guys. So altogether, I personally feel the idea has an extraordinary amount of potential.

But anyway. That's the chap; if you liked, let me know. If you didn't, also do that. Your opinion matters too.


	7. Chapter 7

I always forget these freaking disclaimers. It's probably because I don't own RWBY or Rise of the Guardians or literally anything of value.

Soooo. Chapter time?

Chapter time.

* * *

After managing to kill the Nevermore in spectacular fashion, the group of student hopefuls had regrouped and made their way back to the cliff they had originally been launched off of, relics in tow.

The sweet, sweet feeling of success filled Jaune Arc as he and the others stepped back into the main hall they had been addressed in just yesterday.

Regardless of any other successes, Jaune finally had solid proof to the contrary of one of his greatest fears.

He could fight the Creatures of Grimm. And he could win.

Sure, it had taken eight of them to down the Nevermore; but that thing was massive and a rare species of Grimm in the first place. And against the Death Stalker, only four of them had managed to defeat the creature with next to no injuries.

But Beowolves? Ursai? Boarbatusks? Jaune didn't really have any fear for these creatures anymore. In a fair fight, he could easily trounce any of these Grimm.

Beowolves fell under a hail of icy spines, their lightly armored forms unable to withstand the barrage. It took next to no effort.

Boarbatusks were corralled with obstacles, preventing them from charging, before their unprotected underbelly was exploited. Blunt-force application of his Semblance made that task simple.

Ursai were, admittedly, the most difficult to defeat. But through some more _precise_ application of his Semblance, an Ursa was nothing to worry about. They were slow and bulky unless they got into a full sprint on all fours, and if they did that Jaune could just trip them up with an ice-slick because they weren't adapted for that kind of terrain at all.

Unlike Hunters and Huntresses, protected by their Aura, Creatures of Grimm were relatively easy to end with a single strike. They had organs, they bled, and they had no hidden power to protect them.

With the Grimm, what you saw was usually what you got. Smack them somewhere that looked soft and you'd typically see results.

That was a real weight off of his shoulders.

Now, they had reached the end of their initiation. They would be divided into teams of four, and they would remain with their team for the four years they spent at Beacon Academy.

Jaune would be lying if he said he wasn't incredibly excited, but he kept it to himself as other teams were assembled by the Headmaster.

He was relatively certain they were being sorted based upon which of the chess pieces they had chosen. He and Nora had taken a Rook, as had Pyrrha and Ren. So that implied that they would be a four man team, which Jaune was perfectly fine with.

Ren was a calm and collected individual with a good head on his shoulders, a potent combat style, and the patience of a saint. He was also Nora's bestest friend, which meant that the bubbly carrot-top would be much more comfortable with the team than not.

Nora herself was a juggernaut of a girl with insane reaction speed and a few screws loose. But, well, that was his partner. She fought very well, and she followed his plans without question or hesitation, something that he appreciated greatly. To him, it meant that she either realized his plan was the best course of action based off her own thought process... or she just trusted him enough to go along with it.

That really did mean a lot to Jaune, one way or the other.

And the final member of the team would be Pyrrha Nikos, partner to Ren and apparently an incredible combatant in her own right. She had accumulated several awards for her combat prowess, had come from an education at Sanctum Academy before this, was the four time winner of the Mistral Regional Tournament, and perhaps most impressive of all she was on the cover of Pumpkin Pete's Cereal boxes. She was, despite all of this, an incredibly modest and humble girl from what he had observed.

His suspicions about the chess pieces seemed to be proven correct.

"Russel Thrush, Cardin Winchester, Dove Bronzewing, Sky Lark." Headmaster Ozpin announced as the four made their way to the stage, hands held behind their backs respectfully as the man in charge spoke. On either side of the stage, holographic screens had appeared showing a picture of each student. "The four of you retrieved the black bishop pieces. From this day forward, you will be known as Team CRDN (Cardinal). Led by Cardin Winchester."

Applause broke out as the four boys began to make their way off stage, even as the Headmaster began listing more names. "Jaune Arc."

Hearing his name called nearly made the teen jump, but he restrained himself and simply moved to the stage as Headmaster Ozpin continued to name off the others.

"Lie Ren, Nora Valkyrie, Pyrrha Nikos." Ozpin continued, pausing for a moment as the four of them stood before him with the same respectful stance as the last set.

Pyrrha had taken her position on the far left of the group, next to Ren. Jaune himself was on the furthest right, which left Nora in between the two of them.

In hindsight, that probably wasn't the best of ideas. This was confirmed when the headmaster continued. "The four of you collected the white rook pieces. From this day forward, you will work together as Team JNPR (Juniper)."

And with that announcement made, Jaune and Ren found themselves dragged into a fierce hug from Nora, who had simply reached an arm around each of them from her spot in the center.

Pyrrha, who was out of the exuberant girl's range, merely smiled at the exasperated looking duo being squeezed by her.

Ozpin also seemed to find this amusing, though he only allowed a small upward tilt of his lips. "Led by... Jaune Arc."

That shocked some sense into the boy, who had been standing on one leg due to Nora's sudden hug. "... Led by who?" He questioned, eyes wide. Jaune hadn't been expecting to be the leader of this team, not when Pyrrha was obviously the more qualified one. Even Ren seemed more so by comparison, though Jaune would admit that his own comparison took into account the fact that he had no formal training whatsoever, something which Ozpin couldn't account for.

"Congratulations, young man." Ozpin replied, his neutral look in place.

"Jauney is the leader? Yippee!" Nora exclaimed loudly, spinning the captured boys around with her. "Congrats, Jauney! Ren, isn't this great!?"

"Nora, please put us down." Ren asked quietly, even as he and Jaune were twirled about by the excitable girl.

Nora, not really knowing her own strength, merely released the two of them mid spin.

This sent them flying off the stage, where Ren landed gracefully.

And Jaune... well.

"Ack!" Weiss yelped as she was hit by a veritable wave of snow, which had been thrown up as the Arc teen cushioned his landing. "You dolt! Couldn't you have caught yourself some other way?" She asked angrily, stomping her foot in frustration.

"Sorry snow angel." Jaune replied, flat on his back in a large pile of snow. "Force of habit. Oh by the way, Ozpin just called you guys up."

The Schnee heiress glared at him, before harrumphing and making her way onto the stage.

As the Headmaster announced the four girls to be named Team RWBY (Ruby), led by Ruby Rose, the newly formed Team JNPR had made their way back to their leader and were now observing as he began to make a snow angel in the pile of the substance he had created.

"... having fun?" Pyrrha asked humorously as the boy continued to occupy himself.

"Yeah, sort of. Team JNPR, huh? Sounds nice." Short and sweet. Jaune certainly liked it. He still wasn't sure he was qualified to be the leader, though. And he was going to make that much clear. "... Look, guys. If I make a call, and you don't think it's the right one, don't hesitate to tell me. If I'm going to be the leader, I wanna make it clear right now that I'm going to make mistakes."

This drew an almost unanimous shrug from the remainder of his team. "Jauney, everybody makes mistakes." Nora replied with a casual wave, as though it wasn't even worth worrying about. And, honestly, she probably didn't think it was.

"Nora is right, Jaune." Ren picked up from where she had left off. "Hunters in training or no, we are still human. To err is human, after all." A small smile came to his lips.

Pyrrha threw in her own opinion on the matter, even as she reached a hand down to assist the boy in standing. "We're your team now, Jaune. And we'll support you as best we can, so just do what you think is best."

In the face of such honest belief in him, Jaune couldn't hold back his smile. He had been waiting for so long for someone to just _believe_ he could do something.

His parents had never wanted him to attend a combat school, they didn't think he had it in him. They told him that it was fine to come home if he failed, and Jaune could read between the lines well enough to know that they fully expected him to fail. Him, attend Beacon? There was simply no way such a prestigious academy would accept a student without any combat school history, no formal training whatsoever.

They would probably have been right, but Jaune was nothing if not determined. He was willing to break the rules to be a hero. He believed in himself, and that was enough to get him this far.

But having _others_ genuinely believe in him, as he had believed in himself all this time... it was an amazing feeling.

And so as he accepted the hand of his teammate, being pulled to stand among his newly formed team, Jaune felt like he'd found himself a place to belong.

* * *

Later that night, Jaune had taken himself up to the rooftop of Beacon Academy in order to have some alone time to think.

And, of course, somewhere he could converse with Neo without drawing suspicion from his team. The last thing he wanted was for Nora to find out that he regularly texted someone, let alone her actually learning who Neo was.

That could end all kinds of bad ways.

But before he actually sent his text to the crazed ice cream girl, Jaune wanted to take a few minutes to just stare up at the shattered moon in the sky.

And so there he was, seated upon the rooftop, leaning against a small pillar of ice he had created due to the lack of anything to prop himself up on. He rather enjoyed using his abilities for random things.

The night sky of Remnant was beautiful, filled with gleaming stars and dominated by the imposing form of the broken moon that looked down upon them.

Jaune had never been particularly interested in astronomy. He still wasn't, really, but he felt something of a connection to Remnant's moon.

When he had fallen into the lake, the only thing that had been clear to him was the shining form of the moon in the sky. Something about it had simply called to him, but Jaune was never sure just what it was.

All he really knew was that the moon had some sort of connection to his Semblance. There was no doubt in his mind of this, even though he had no real proof one way or another. It was just a gut feeling that had come to him as soon as he looked towards the celestial body in the sky for the first time after awakening his Aura.

There was something there, he just couldn't find it.

A contented sigh came from him, eyes slipping closed. For a few moments, Jaune just basked in the silence and peace of the night.

"Man, what a day." Jaune mumbled to himself with a smile. Fishing his scroll from his pocket, the teen scrolled through his contacts before reaching the desired name.

Neopolitan. His sort-of friend, the forge who had set up his false transcripts, and the girl he had shared a bed with on multiple occasions... and the one who had nearly slit his throat upon their first meeting.

"Just how much should I tell her, I wonder?" Jaune asked himself. He wasn't really sure, considering Neo was technically the enemy. She was a criminal right? But at the same time, she _was_ sort of a friend. He'd gotten past denying it by now, he liked Neo and her antics too much by this point to say she wasn't at least on friendly terms with him. And the information wouldn't _really_ be much use to her, he suspected.

 _'Initiation is over.'_ He typed, sending the message off.

The reply came quickly. _'So what poor souls did they stick with you?'_ She asked.

Jaune chuckled a bit. He had really begun to like her caustic wit. _'Pyrrha Nikos, for one.'_

 _'... Do the rest of you just suck so much that they stuck her with you to play catch-up, or..?'_

 _'That's rude, you know.'_ Jaune replied, though it was without any real bite.

 _'Serious question. Pyrrha Nikos is a very strong Huntress in training, she's been the top dog in every competition she's entered. The Invincible Girl, they call her.'_

That caught his attention. Just how strong did that make his new teammate? He'd been informed of her prowess by others, but how deeply did it extend? _'Do you think you could beat her?'_ Thus far, Neopolitan was the most dangerous person he had fought. She had completely demolished him within a matter of minutes. Was Pyrrha also on that level?

 _'I'm certain I could if it was our first time fighting. She's skilled, but from what I've seen of her I wouldn't have any issue... but the strange thing is that people's weapons seem to miss her even when it's a sure-hit. I don't know how she does that, but I suspect a Semblance.'_

"Huh..." Jaune mumbled to himself, eyes wide at the implication. _'That's weird. Just their weapons, though?'_

 _'Yep. It's also very subtle; most people haven't noticed it, and some of those that do are just being called paranoid. But I've been doing this for far too long to be tricked into believing it's not her manipulating things somehow.'_

Jaune found himself pondering on the subject. What could cause people to just miss her like that? Was it some sort of perception manipulation skill? Telekinesis? Or something else? A thought hit him. _'Does it happen to unarmed fighters too?'_

 _'Most people who fight her use weapons, Jaune. But I remember one martial artist type who went against her with nothing but his bare hands. From what I could tell, it didn't happen to him. She beat him pretty easily still, but none of his attacks changed direction last second.'_

"Hm... could it be something like that, then?" Jaune wondered to himself, curious about this interesting ability his new teammate had. If unarmed fighters didn't experience this bizarre phenomenon, it could point to a few different things... but one possibility stood out.

Most Hunter weapons were made of metal. Metal was strong, flexible, and plentiful. It could be used to create tons of different things, and it was a primary resource for just about any sort of weapon one could find. Guns, swords, knives, sniper rifle scythes, the works.

And so one weakness that all of these weapons had in common would be the fact that they were susceptible to magnetism.

If someone had the ability to control magnetic fields or something similar, which was not too outlandish considering he was a walking snow generator, it would probably look like people's attacks were just changing direction last minute.

Jaune was pretty sure he'd just figured out what Pyrrha's Semblance did. _'I think it has something to do with magnetism.'_ He sent his reply, before a thought occurred to him.

He had just possibly given away a serious trump card of one of his new team to a criminal. If he was wrong, and her Semblance worked differently? Then that was fine, false information spread that way would only help. But what if he was actually right about it? He may have just done something that could get her killed.

 _'So I figure since you haven't replied to my last few messages you're having an internal debate over whether or not it was smart to tell me that.'_ Neo's reply finally reached his attention, a quick glance towards the scroll proving that she had in fact sent other replies.

 _'Sorry.'_ Jaune sent, before typing up a bit more explanation. _'You're right though. If I'm right about what her ability is, I could have just done something that will get Pyrrha killed.'_

 _'Don't worry about it.'_ Neo's reply confused him, but a quick follow-up made things somewhat clearer. _'I'm literally only interested in this girl because of how bored I've been. I don't have any intention to tell anyone about it... Well, maybe Roman if he asks nicely. And offers me ice cream. But no one else, and Roman would keep that information to himself anyway.'_

An exasperated sigh came from the white haired Arc, who sometimes forgot just how ridiculous this girl could be. Another text from her came through, drawing his attention back to the scroll.

 _'And since she's your friend, if I do somehow end up fighting this girl I'll keep from killing her for your sake. I'd rather not give you a reason to genuinely dislike me.'_

 _'Aside from holding me at sword-point on a rooftop with no explanation as to why.'_ Jaune replied, though he was relieved to hear that from her. Neopolitan had been almost brutally honest with him for the entire duration of their relationship, and so he was fairly confident that most of what she said could be taken at face value.

The simple truth of the matter was that Neo just did not give a shit. She'd gotten where she was through her own skill, not through lying and cheating. That was the kind of thing she had Roman for.

 _'I honestly think you liked it. This cute little body of mine pressed right up against your back... I bet your dreams were interesting that night.'_

That actually got a laugh from him. _'I had nightmares for like a week, Neo. Actual nightmares that I woke up from in the middle of the night.'_

 _'Oh. That's neat. I honestly_ _didn't think you'd be that bad off.'_

 _'Neo, you tried to kill me. And very nearly succeeded.'_ Jaune really didn't get why people found this odd. He kind of liked being alive, and Neo had almost put an end to that. _'But at any rate, thank you for that. I don't know how likely it is that you'd end up fighting any of my friends, but I'm glad you're at least willing to let them off easy.'_

Jaune didn't know exactly how strong his classmates would be, but there was one thing he was certain of.

Neopolitan was stronger. He didn't know much about this girl, but she had been thriving in the criminal underworld of Vale for who knows how long. And after seeing at least seven of his classmates against various Grimm, Jaune could safely say that Neo was more dangerous than any single one of them, and several combinations of them.

The smallest team he could honestly see as challenging Neo would include Pyrrha, Yang, Ruby, and himself. Between the skill and ferocity of the Invincible Girl and the blonde berserker, as well as the added support of the incredibly fast Ruby, he could freely use his more dangerous and time consuming abilities.

Even still, though... the Arc teen wasn't even sure that would be enough to stop Neo. Her Semblance seemed to allow her to teleport, and that in addition to her incredible skill and speed was something Jaune never wanted to tangle with again, even with an army at his back.

Chances were she would just kill him and get out without a trace.

 _'You're welcome.'_ Came the reply from the girl, and again Jaune just couldn't help but be impressed by the fact that his meetings with this girl had imparted her smug attitude to him so well that he could practically feel it radiating off of her texts even.

 _'So did you get the pictures I sent earlier?'_ Jaune asked, curious to see how she had liked them.

The reply came shortly. _'I'm honestly really impressed that you caught those Beowolves in such a stupid pose. I've never seen a Grimm look so clueless. It was almost cute.'_

 _'Less cute when they figured out where I was.'_ Jaune responded with a snort, amused at the very thought of Beowolves being considered "cute" for even a moment.

 _'Did they give you any trouble?'_

A smirk came to his lips as he remembered just how _little_ effort he'd put into killing them. _'Surprisingly, no. I killed a small pack of the things without any issue. The Death Stalker, though... that took some work.'_

 _'Where the hell did you end up running into a Death Stalker?'_ She asked.

 _'Same place as I found the Nevermore, in a clearing I reached after chasing my crazy ass partner who was riding on an Ursa Major at the time.'_

Jaune liked to think that the lack of an immediate response was due to a stunned silence from the girl, who couldn't believe just how ridiculous that string of events seemed.

More likely, however, was the thought that she was just laughing hysterically at his misfortune.

 _'So let me get this straight. After fighting a pack of Beowolves, you chased your partner who was riding an Ursa Major into a clearing. And there just happened to be both a Nevermore and a Death Stalker in that clearing?'_

Jaune chuckled lightly. _'Pretty much. We managed to kill them both, though, so that was neat.'_

 _'Really? That actually is impressive for a bunch of hunters in training. How did you all accomplish that?'_

 _'I told the four of us with the best range and speed to go distract the Nevermore, but not to put too much effort into fighting it, while the more powerful close range people and I took on the Death Stalker. We couldn't really get through the Grimm's armor, just a little chink in it really... So I did something stupid.'_ Stupid, and yet it had worked spectacularly.

 _'Stupid as in?'_ Neo asked, clearly quite curious now.

 _'I jumped on it's back and stabbed a thick pike of ice into the thing, right where we'd managed to put a small hole in it's armor. And then I shoved my hand in it's wound and froze it from the inside out.'_

This time Jaune was honestly more leaning towards the slow response being actual surprise. _'You froze it solid? A Death Stalker?'_

It was one of Jaune's prouder moments, honestly. _'Yep. And then Nora, my partner, smashed it with a hammer.'_

 _'You know, maybe you do have a chance of surviving in Beacon after all.'_ Neo admitted.

Jaune took offense to this. _'And just what the heck is that supposed to mean?'_

* * *

After bickering back and forth with Neo about various things, the white haired Arc had decided to head back to Team JNPR's dorm room.

As he walked in the door, Jaune found himself greeted with the sight of Nora jumping on her bed, Ren reading a book on his own, and Pyrrha simply lounging on her bed.

Okay, well that was actually pretty much what he had expected to see.

"Jauney! Where'd you get off to?" Nora asked, hopping off the bed and moving almost uncomfortably far within his personal space.

As a matter of fact the only thing keeping him from being uncomfortable was the fact that he was used to this kind of behavior from Neo and, to a lesser extent, Yang.

"Friend of mine from Vale wanted me to tell them about how things went." Jaune replied with a small smile. "I didn't want to interrupt anyone else's conversation with my own, so I headed up to the rooftop for a bit."

Ren and Pyrrha simply nodded, the redhead offering a small wave in greeting that he returned.

Nora, on the other hand, had a wide smile on her face. "Ooooh, a _girl_ friend?" She asked suggestively, one hand on her hip.

"She's a girl, and she's a friend, but she's not my girlfriend." Jaune elaborated with a dull look. "As a matter of fact, just about all of my friends in Vale are girls. Huh..." He hadn't really given it much thought, but Nora's teasing kind of reminded him of that fact. Junior wasn't really much of a friend, though they were on okay terms. Jaune still wasn't certain the man forgave him for the incident in his club. But other than him, the only people he actually knew were Melanie and Miltiades.

His reply had drawn some giggles from Nora, who had since made her way back to her bed and plopped down comfortably. "You should introduce us sometime if we're ever in the city!"

Jaune thought about that for a moment. While introducing them to Neo in any fashion was an absolute no-no, Miltiades and Melanie were, as far as anyone could prove, just a pair of girls who worked security at Junior's club. Sort of shady but not outright _criminal_. While Junior's place was sort of an open secret as far as criminal dealings went, it was still a legal establishment and no one could prove otherwise. "I'll think about it." He chuckled at the exuberant look this got from the girl.

Strolling over to his own bed, Jaune settled himself in with a comfortable sigh. It was a nice bed. Fairly plain, yes, but still soft. Compared to what he'd been sleeping on this might as well have been a cloud dragged down from the sky for his own usage.

Though this new arrangement did mean he would be sleeping alone rather than in the company of a pretty girl. Not too much of a loss since all they had really been doing was sleeping, though waking up with Neo in his arms had been an interesting experience.

The first time it had happened, Jaune was scared to death. Her face had been inches away from his, close enough for him to have a perfect view of her soft, smooth lips, and to take in just how small and _innocent_ she looked in her sleep.

He had no idea how it had come about, and so his first reaction was abject horror, thinking that somehow the two of them had hooked up the night previous and that he only had until Neo woke up to live, ignoring the fact that they were both clothed.

But no, she actually seemed entirely okay with it. After Jaune had asked her what she was doing in his bed, everything was made clear.

She was just too lazy to go back to her home.

Neopolitan was like a freaking housecat sometimes. Lazy and irritating, but still as cute as could be. She'd just given him that devilish little smile of hers and Jaune gave up on trying to fight it.

"So Jauney." Nora spoke up, leaning back on her bed and looking up at the ceiling. "Whattaya think it's going to be like here at Beacon?"

Jaune blinked, surprised that Nora had asked him rather than Ren. Seeing the dark haired teen engrossed in his reading, he figured that the girl had just decided to ask him rather than bother her childhood friend.

Taking a moment to think it over, Jaune quickly found that he had no idea. "Not a clue." He answered truthfully. "I mean, I hear that Beacon is supposed to be the place that the best come from, but other than that I don't really know what to expect. If today is any indication, we could be getting tossed off cliffs on the daily."

Ren frowned. "I'm hoping that isn't the case." That entire incident had been troublesome. While he could now say that he'd participated in the killing of a large Nevermore, a moderately rare and powerful species of Grimm, not much else came from it. And it had been a very tiring marathon, at that. He could hardly remember the last time he had put forth so much effort.

"I'm okay with that." Nora nodded with a wide grin. "Those launcher pad thingies are so _cool_! You're just like..." She crouched down, before leaping a few feet into the air and making a "whoosh" noise before flopping onto her bed gracelessly. "So much fun!"

Pyrrha chuckled a bit. "I doubt we'll be going through that kind of trial again for some time." The Champion noted idly. "Beacon is a Hunter school, yes, but still a school. We can probably expect a mostly normal curriculum." Normal for them, that is. Grimm studies was one thing she expected great emphasis on, along with a history class with a primary focus on battles that had taken place. Having their education be too generalized at this point would simply be a waste of time.

A shrug came from the white-haired leader of the team. "Well, the schedule they gave out seems fairly tame, I admit." Nothing seemed particularly threatening at a glance, aside from the fact that Glynda Goodwitch was going to be the teacher for their sparring class. Jaune wasn't looking forward to that simply because it drew extra room for her to scrutinize his skills and, potentially, see discrepancies between his displayed skill and the transcripts he had provided. "But I wouldn't put it past them to work in a few extra surprises here and there to keep us on our toes." This may have stemmed from his completely rational belief that the world was out to get him, but still. After throwing them off a damn cliff on day two on the campus, Jaune really would not put it past them.

"Oooh, I love surprises!" Nora giggled happily, imagining what kind of shenanigans they could be getting into.

Ren was less enthusiastic. "You make a valid point." He admitted tiredly, not looking forward to the potential for such things.

"Oh hey, Jauney." Nora chimed in, suddenly turning to regard their leader once more. "Y'think you could get away with starting a snowball fight in the cafeteria?"

Jaune blinked. "Nora, I'm probably the only person in this school that _could_ be blamed for something like that." He chuckled at the thought. "Seriously, they'd know it was me in a heartbeat." How many other teenagers in this school had the ability to just make copious amounts of snow out of nowhere? Sure Dust could do stuff similar, but it was a bit more of a drawn out process. He just kind of made it happen.

Nora pouted. "Darn. Foodfights it is, then."

"No food fights please, Nora." Ren asked. Seeing her betrayed expression directed at him, the teen eventually released a sigh and relented. "Fine. But not for a while, Nora."

"Yay!" The carrot-top exclaimed happily, already planning out her strategy for the upcoming battle.

Jaune chuckled at this, while Pyrrha's expression remained calm but clearly amused.

After a few more moments of Nora happily rambling on about whatever came to mind, Pyrrha took advantage of a brief pause to ask a question of her own.

"Jaune, how long have you been using your Semblance?" She asked curiously, having seen him use it in a whole variety of different ways.

The boy in question blinked, everyone's attention now on him. "Uh... about a year, really." He replied evenly, careful not to say anything that would conflict with his transcripts.

"Only a year? You seemed to have a great deal of control over it." Pyrrha was surprised by the admission, having expected him to have more experience using it. Having only a year worth of training with his Semblance and reaching a level of control like that was something to be proud of. While a Semblance was something like a manifestation of your soul, the kind that outwardly interacted with the world tended to be somewhat difficult to control. She happened to know that from personal experience.

A sheepish chuckle came from him. "Honestly, the thing about my Semblance is that it's not really hard to control at all." He admitted. "It just kind of happens when I want it to." Sure, he'd done some work to improve himself since first gaining his abilities, increasing the speed at which he could generate ice, shape his creations, the intensity of the bursts of wind he used for mobility... all of that had started out slower and clunky. But improvement was just a matter of practice, and it never seemed difficult to do. "I mean, I had to practice to get some things right, but I never really hit a "wall" I guess?"

"Interesting." Ren noted, idly pondering to himself. "So just upon thought, your abilities activate?"

Jaune shrugged. "Basically, yeah." As an example of sorts, he held up on hand and formed a snowball in it. "Like that, see?" He mumbled, tossing the ball of frozen water up and down lightly. "It's basically as easy as that for everything, but it takes extra time mainly if I need something complicated." Complicated being something larger, something more intricate, and so on. A sharp disc was relatively quick, a chain comprised of icy-links was more time consuming... and less practical.

Nodding, Pyrrha accepted this explanation without any further prodding. She had asked on a whim, wanting to know a bit more about their team leader.

"So Jauney. We're making popsicles soon right?" Nora asked, clearly excited by the prospect of using her partner's Semblance for mundane purposes.

Snorting in amusement at the girl's enthusiasm, he replied. "Yeah, soon. I'll just need to head out to Vale and gather up some fruits I guess." The amused looks from the other two members of the team drew his attention. "What? Half the practice I've got for my Semblance has been for no purpose other than my own amusement..." He paused a moment, thinking. "Or someone else's." The Arc teen conceded after a moment.

"Well, that's certainly one way to train your ability." Pyrrha replied with a soft laugh and a bright smile.

The idle chatter between the four of them continued on for a bit longer, something Jaune appreciated greatly. He'd never really had many friends as a child, mainly because he was kind of a shut-in, reading his comics and all around trying (and failing...) to keep his sisters from dragging him into ridiculous situations.

Following that, once he'd awakened his Aura and decided to head off on his own to try and attend Beacon, he had been only as sociable as needed by his wide variety of jobs. Too busy seeking out the seedy connections he'd need for his eventual forgery, and the money he would need to even get it.

And then he'd finally been able to kick back and take a break after Neopolitan had kicked him around like a hacky-sack, and met up with Melanie and Miltiades.

Looking back on it, those two were probably the first real friends he'd made outside of his family. He'd sort of avoided getting to know people while he worked, trying to be as easily forgettable as he could with his uncommon snow-white hair. After all, if he was going to fake his history to attend Beacon it would be kind of counterproductive to tell folks about his actual past.

But the twins were... well, not so much trustworthy as it was that the information had no value to them. They knew he'd come looking for a forge because he'd gone to their boss for that in the first place. He'd sort of figured that if they already knew there was hardly any harm in taking some time to just be himself and have some fun talking.

And, well, it had all just sort of fallen into place from there.

Going from zero real friends to two, and then less than a month later jumping up by another seven... eight if he was to grudgingly include Yang... well, it was nice. Even if one of said friends had tried to kill him and another had hurt the first two in a glorified street brawl.

"It's getting late." Ren noted suddenly, having pulled his scroll out to check the time. "We've got an early day tomorrow, so the four of us should probably turn in for the night soon."

Pyrrha couldn't withhold her chuckle at the sight of Nora pouting like a child told it was past their bedtime, drawing more of a pout from the carrot-top even as Ren looked on with exasperation born of familiarity.

"Yeah, Ren has a point." Jaune seconded, snickering as Nora rounded on him and mouthed "traitor!" while shaking a fist. "It's kind of late."

With that said, the four of them went about their business preparing for the night.

And, of course, the Arc teen's chosen sleepwear drew scrutiny from those around him.

"... It's hard to take you seriously knowing that's what you wear to sleep." Ren admitted evenly.

This drew giggles from the girls. "I think it's cute." Pyrrha said, coming to the defense of their leader with a small grin.

"Ooooh, I should get one too!" Nora exclaimed, before her eyes widened in realization. "No, no, even better! Let's _all_ get them!" She rubbed her hands together, unable to contain her glee at the thought of Team JNPR all wearing color appropriate versions of their leader's pajamas as a uniform of sorts.

Ren groaned. "Nora, no..." He mumbled pleadingly.

This only served to encourage her, however. "Nora, _yes_!" She replied matter-of-factly.

Before such conviction, Ren could only sigh and hope that she forgot about it by the end of the week.

Jaune had to fight back his laughter at the thought of Ren in a bunny onesie. He especially wanted to make sure it was a hooded one with large, floppy ears... because that would be absolutely great to see. "Nora, I like that idea."

"Yes! Jauney agrees! Let's do it!"

"Please don't encourage her..." Ren begged.

With a wide smile, the Arc teen switched off the light and made his way over to his bed before settling in. "Night, guys."

"Night Jauney! And you too Ren and Pyrrha!" Came Nora's cheerful reply.

The Invincible Girl giggled at the enthusiasm that Nora never seemed to lack, before offering her own good night. "Good night, Jaune, Ren, Nora."

"Pleasant dreams, everyone." Ren chimed in with a small yawn, clearly looking forward to his sleep.

And with that, the day of Team JNPR's creation came to an end.

* * *

Lie Ren very much enjoyed his sleep.

It was just something that he liked; slipping away from the troubles and tribulations of the real world for some hours, moving on to an immaterial plane of dreams.

Sleep was peaceful, calm, and a very needed break from the hectic lifestyle that being Nora Valkyrie's oldest friend provided. Even Nora couldn't harass him in his dreams, thankfully.

Of course, Ren wouldn't trade her for the world, and anyone who even tried to separate the two of them in any permanent fashion would have to go through Hell itself to do so... but he needed a break sometimes.

His eight hours of nightly rest and occasional naps during the daylight hours were that break. So Ren really, really, _really_ liked his sleep.

Thus, when he felt the presence of someone above him, it took almost everything he had to restrain a frustrated sigh as he was pulled from the realm of dreams and back to the waking world.

One eye peered open, expecting to see the gleeful face of his oldest friend staring down at him with the kind of exuberance one simply should not have so early in the morning.

The other followed shortly as both eyes shot wide, having been especially surprised to see a cartoonish bunny-rabbit rather than Nora. His gaze traveled further up, eventually landing on the equally surprised face of his white-haired team leader.

"... Mornin', Ren." Jaune greeted, moving away and seemingly not even acknowledging the fact that he had just been looming ominously over the other teen.

Ren simply glanced around the room warily, before releasing a sigh. "Good morning, Jaune. Might I ask what Nora put you up to?"

Judging by the startled blink and sheepish look that found it's way to the teen's face, Ren had hit the nail on the head.

Jaune chuckled a bit. "... She wanted to wake you up." He replied, clearly evading the actual question.

"... you were going to dump snow on me, weren't you?" Ren asked dully, having heard of the incident with Yang.

Nodding sheepishly, Jaune defaulted to an age-old tactic; throw someone else under the bus. "It was Nora's idea. You of all people know how hard it is to deny her."

Had it been anyone else, that argument may have failed. However, Ren did know exactly how hard it was to deny anything Nora asked. She would constantly pester you for the rest of your life if need be, because she really was _that_ singleminded at times.

Sighing as he slid the covers off of his frame, throwing his legs over the bed and moving to a seated position, Ren decided to impart some knowledge upon his team leader which would save them both considerable amounts of trouble down the line.

"Since you're her partner, Nora is probably going to hassle you with things like this often." Ren began with a small smile, amused by the fact that now someone else would have to shoulder some of his best friend's attention. "With that said, here is a word of advise; bribery works wonders on her, provided you know what to offer."

Jaune blinked. "Bribery?"

A chuckle came from Ren. "Offer her pancakes and she'll drop just about anything. Or alternatively, you can attempt to distract her by mentioning sloths." Nora was a complicated girl in many ways, but in others she was delightfully simple.

Shaking his head, Jaune couldn't keep his snort of amusement in. "That simple, huh?"

"It works most of the time." Ren replied, glancing around the room. "Where are Pyrrha and Nora, by the way?" He asked.

"Well, Pyrrha was up and dressed before any of us actually." Jaune admitted, still surprised that anyone could wake up at that time on their own. "She decided to go for a walk."

"And Nora?"

The white-haired teen chuckled. "She saw that Pyrrha had already showered and decided she was next. I didn't argue." It didn't even really matter to him if they used all of the hot water, considering his particular condition. "I'm fine with going last, by the way, so you can go after her."

Ren chuckled again, before slowly sliding out of bed. Stretching his arms above his head, the teen sighed contentedly. "The beds are comfortable, at least." He noted.

"Yep." Jaune agreed with a grin. "Much better than the one I'd been using at my hotel." Seriously, that bed had been awful. Like, the springs were messed up bad enough that he legitimately thought they would injure him without his aura.

Hell, Neo had preferred to use _him_ as a mattress rather than actually using the mattress.

At that moment, Nora pranced merrily out of the bathroom with a wide smile on her face, fully dressed and idly toweling her slightly damp hair while she hummed a random tune. "I'm done with my shower, who's next?" She asked.

Jaune nodded towards Ren, who had gathered up his own uniform. The boy smiled lightly at the two of them, before offering a nod and walking into the bathroom. "I won't be long." He called out as he closed the door behind him.

As he entered the attached restroom, Nora gently plopped down onto her bed and continued humming her little tune.

Jaune himself walked on over to the window, before opening it and taking a deep breath of the cool morning air. "It's looking like a nice day." He said to himself, smiling.

He'd finally made it to Beacon, all the way through all the tests and trials that could keep him out. First he'd found someone to forge transcripts, then he'd gotten through the initiation, and now he was here as the leader of his own team.

That kind of made him wary, though, because as the leader he was certain to be subjected to the most scrutiny. Furthermore, why had he been chosen as the leader in a team with much more qualified individuals? It seemed odd.

"So Jauney." Nora piped up after a few moments, drawing his attention towards her. By this point she had tossed her towel off to the side and was now just relaxing on the bed. "Got any hobbies?"

Jaune took a moment to think. "A few, yeah. I like to cook." He'd always been getting bugged by his sisters to make various snacks for them ever since they figured out he was actually a decent cook. From there he'd just gotten in so much practice that he'd taken a liking to it.

Nora's gaze became serious. "Jauney." She spoke. "Can you make pancakes?" She asked, as though this was the most important question he would ever answer.

"... yes?" Jaune replied dully. Pancakes were rather easy to make.

Apparently this was the right answer judging by the massive smile that spread across Nora's face. "Yes!" She cheered gleefully, arms up in the air.

The Arc teen chuckled, amused at the display. It reminded him of his sisters actually. "Lemme guess, you're all happy because there's someone else you can bug into making your favorite food?"

"Yes." Nora replied, completely unrepentant.

Shrugging, Jaune just decided to go with it. "Sure, sure, I'll add pancake mix and syrup to the list of things I'm grabbing in Vale." He may as well ask what foods Pyrrha and Ren liked too, just so he could get everything at once. "And what about you, Nora? What hobbies do you have?"

The girl blinked. "Uhm... Well, I like music. And sloths, they're adorable. And pancakes. And hitting things." She was now counting off on her fingers. "Hm... I _really_ like hitting things." Nora amended her previous statement. "Oh, and then there's bothering Ren. That counts, right?"

"Yes, Nora, that counts." Jaune replied with a smirk. "Anything else?"

"Uh, well..." Nora put a bit more thought into this one. "I guess I like romance novels."

It was Jaune's turn to blink. "Really? I wouldn't have guessed." While she certainly didn't seem stupid, the boy had a hard time really imagining Nora actually sitting still long enough to read an entire novel. Let alone a mushy romance novel.

She shrugged. "I don't read too much I guess, but it's something. Renny picked a few out for me he thought I'd like, and I just went with it. But! Back to you, though, Mr. Changer of Subjects!" Nora announced, pointing at him. "You've gotta have more than just cooking as a hobby, and I won't be distracted again!"

"Hey Nora, what's a sloth sound like?" Jaune asked out of the blue.

Her face lit up. "Oh, oh! It's the most adorablest noise ever! It's like this;-" Suddenly the girl blinked. "Hey, hey! No! No side-tracking me with sloths!" How dare anyone use the adorableness that was a sloth for something so underhanded? That was just not right.

"Sorry, sorry. I was just playing." He chuckled, amused to see that Ren wasn't just messing with him. "I also do some sewing." Because his sisters always managed to rip their clothes either playing or training. "I like karaoke even though I'm awful at it." Which he, again, learned because his sisters had pushed him to try. "Gardening is another hobby of mine." Because one of his sisters had taken it up for about a week before growing bored of the small garden she started, which had led to him taking over for her.

... Looking back on it, maybe growing up with seven very outspoken sisters had a more significant effect on him than he'd thought...

"And?" Nora asked, expectantly, as though she knew there was something else.

Snapping out of his recollections, Jaune recalled one last thing he'd ended up picking up because of his sisters.

"... Well, I like to dance." He admitted after a moment. The teen couldn't help but grin as he remembered just how shocked the twins had been when he'd made his way onto the dance floor.

He'd kind of just gone with it, but next thing he knew the whole place had sort of turned into his personal stage as all the other dancers made a ring for him.

After that, he'd gone to town. With all those eyes on him, how could he not? He'd put on a show they wouldn't forget for a while, even going so far as to use his Semblance for some more acrobatic moves.

That had been a really fun night, and the gobsmacked looks on Melanie and Miltiades had made it even better. Granted, the following night that he couldn't help but remember also kind of grated his nerves, seeing as how that had been when Yang had decided to trash the place.

Just as Nora was about to say something in response, Pyrrha stepped into the room with a wide smile. "Oh. Good morning, everyone." She greeted, almost painfully enthusiastic for someone who had been up for at least two hours when the sun had hardly even come up.

It would appear that Pyrrha, in addition to being an absolutely kind, humble, and all around pleasant person to be around was also a _morning_ person.

Somehow, Jaune wasn't surprised by this. A part of him kind of expected it.

Nora brightened at the entrance of the other redhead. "Pyrrha! We were just talking about stuff Jauney does for fun. Did'ja know he can dance?" She emphasized this statement with a sort of wiggle of her upper body, moving to a beat inside of her head.

Pyrrha giggled a bit. "Oh, really now?" She teased, shooting a broad smile to her leader. "Maybe you should take us out dancing sometime?"

That drew a laugh from the teen. "Yeah, sure thing. We'll make a day of it. " That'd be a good way to have a bit of fun. He'd be able to introduce his friends to each other, that would certainly be interesting.

... Hopefully Miltia and Melanie didn't end up clashing with everyone, though. As much as he liked the two of them, they were kind of snooty, smug, and a _little_ bit mean. If they didn't get along with you, you'd be made perfectly aware of that.

Still, if they all did get along then things would be great. Hopefully they'd be willing to be a bit nicer than usual.

But man, if Neo decided to pop in... Dust, he couldn't even fathom the issues that could cause.

Jaune blinked, eyes shooting towards the bathroom door as Ren strolled out, fully dressed in the uniform with a pink towel wrapped around his head. "Your turn, Jaune." He offered with a nod, a small, playful smirk on his lips. "I didn't use all the hot water."

"As if it would matter." The icy teen laughed a bit, shaking his head. "I wasn't kidding about that; I can bathe in ice water just fine." Cold didn't bother him. It just didn't. He could feel it, but it was like... muted? Well, not really... it was more that to him cold was his mild, freezing was his cool, and hot was... really freaking hot.

It was a really good thing that his Semblance wasn't hindered by your typical warm weather. Seriously. If he couldn't abuse his powers to cool him down, Jaune legitimately feared he would get heat sick to the point of debilitation.

Ren shrugged. "Well, I'll keep that in mind in the future." He chuckled a bit, walking over to his bed to settle, gently toweling his hair.

"Renny!" Nora shouted suddenly, quickly hopping up and moving to sit next to the dark haired teen, drawing him into a one-armed hug. "We're gonna go out dancing!" She exclaimed, one hand held in front of her in a grandiose fashion.

He blinked in response. "We are?" Ren wasn't quite certain he liked the sound of that.

Or the expression on his leader's face.

"Yep. We're doing it." Jaune replied with a wide grin. "Be ready, Ren. We're gonna have ourselves a party sooner or later." He might see if Ruby's team wanted to come along...

Oh. Shit, Yang... uhg. Yeah, maybe that wouldn't work... He really did not want to see what happened when Miltia and Melanie met Yang again. Especially because if he had to choose a side there, he would easily pick theirs... and then they'd tear up the club that Junior only just managed to put back together days ago.

Thank goodness he'd not caused much damage with his little outburst. Most of the stuff that Yang could've smashed up was spared because he'd drawn her attention, so a lot of things were cosmetic.

The good thing here was that Junior was more pleased with him than pissed. Seriously, that was one guy Jaune didn't want mad at him. Considering he knew full well that those transcripts weren't real, that was some serious ammunition.

But yeah no, Yang was not coming along. Screw that.

"Righto. I'm gonna go take that shower now." Jaune announced, tearing his mind away from the rather disturbing thought.

As he walked into the bathroom, uniform in tow, Jaune couldn't help but shiver.

"Man..." He muttered quietly to himself, glancing towards his reflecting in the mirror. "I really hope I don't have to fight Yang again any time soon."

* * *

Jaune really disliked Beacon's uniform.

It wasn't uncomfortable, not really. It fit well enough and wasn't very restricting, it didn't look bad or anything either.

But he'd kind of gotten used to one particular facet of his normal outfit; namely, the lack of shoes.

He'd been going barefoot for nearly a year now because of his Semblance. His usual method of moving quickly on ice didn't work with shoes on, it was hard to really propel himself with his little wind trick. So because of that, Jaune had pretty much abandoned shoes altogether. Aura basically made it so he never hurt himself stepping on rocks and whatnot, so the main reason to actual wear the things was kind of moot.

After going so long without wearing them, the shoes felt almost painfully tight and uncomfortable. It'd been bugging him all day.

Classes had been fairly normal, thankfully. He was glad to see his original paranoia wasn't immediately proven to be correct. The peace was definitely something he appreciated after the kind of craziness that had been following him about.

First and foremost had been Grimm Studies with Professor Port, he of the long-wind.

That man. He could talk. So much.

About himself.

Professor Port had spent the entire class with a very long lecture about his escapades as a young man and up and coming hunter, where he had physically wrestled a Beowolf with his bare hands and eventually managed to snap it's neck.

Yes, the lecture did provide some useful information; through the haze of long-winded and utterly boring rambling, some useful information on the reach of a Beowolf when in close proximity did come up.

As lanky as the creatures were, it was easier to slip around their swings up close. They needed a little bit more range to really make the best use of their claws. Otherwise, all they could really do was try to bite or grapple you. And Beowolves, while more powerful than a grown man by far, were not the most physically strong Grimm, unlike an Ursa.

And that was where the useful information dropped off into babble and around where Jaune stopped paying attention.

So after that entire incident, they had slipped on out and moved on to History with Profess- er, _Doctor_ Oobleck. The good doctor was definitely quite passionate in his career, explaining everything he could with the passion and fervor of a man who was living out his dream.

... but he talked so. Freaking. _Fast_! How was anyone meant to even understand the man, let alone take notes? He _spoke_ faster than Jaune could think for crying out loud! That was absurd.

And then he'd actually asked questions as though people could understand him.

Well, of course he was maybe a little exaggerating. It was possible to at least catch the gist of what Oobleck said, so answering it was possible. A little difficult, but possible.

But good grief, the man was giving him whiplash just rushing back and forth through the room. Crazy-fast talking, crazy fast moving. Was this part of a test or just how he taught? Only time would tell.

Lunch was lunch. Good food, though; really. Beacon's cooks were top notch. He'd sort of kidded around with his team and team RWBY, all around it'd been a good time. After that, schooling had continued on.

And of course, the final and most relevant class of all had finally come up.

Sparring class. Headed by Glynda Goodwitch.

Things had started off so tame. She'd introduced herself and the course syllabus, explained that she would be pairing them based upon their abilities with the most suitable partner while still shifting from the day to day, providing all the aid she could with individual fighting styles; the works. Altogether it seemed like a really great class just by merit of having such an organized and attentive person at the helm.

Of course, things had all fallen apart when she announced the first set of fighters.

When he'd seen his name come up, Jaune hadn't been too put out. He kind of liked the idea of testing his ability against one of his class mates. It'd be a good chance to see where he stood against people. He had his own idea of how he'd do, but that was nothing compared to actual evidence, and he would admit that he probably did give himself an unintentional bias in his thoughts of just who'd win, but nearly everyone was guilty of that.

Weiss was quick and nimble with a versatile Semblance and a reliable weapon which she'd clearly used for years. Between her use of Dust while fighting, her speed and precision, and her Semblance it would be a really difficult fight, but one he would appreciate going through. He'd try to make the battlefield more difficult for her to navigate with his own Semblance, harass her with ranged attacks if he could before moving in to try and finish. Beating her was definitely possible.

Ruby was adorable but it belied the speed-demon resting within. She was absurdly fast and the level of experience she handled her weapon with was positively _insane_. She was younger than all of them but the grasp she had on how to make use of her chosen weapon was easily more advanced than anyone else. Mixing that together with her rather wily nature and sly mind, a fight with her would teach him a lot whether he won or lost. Again, terrain would probably be his greatest weapon against her. Icy slick floors would at least hinder her, he hoped. If not, his only real option would be to make a veritable obstacle course for her to navigate while he tried to catch her off guard. Again, possible to beat, but she was definitely one of the ones he felt most wary of.

On the other hand, Blake gave him the vibe that making himself a little maze like that would be suicide. With the way she moved, in short but quick bursts, he couldn't help but think that she would tear him apart if he wasn't as mobile as possible, and trapping himself with walls and spikes of ice would only hinder that. Those clone thingies she used would also be a problem, he couldn't reliably pin her down with ranged attacks and getting in close was a scary thought as well. Her style and her Semblance would be a pain to handle, and her weapon was rather unorthodox, meaning it'd be hard to really defend against because he had no idea how people would even use something like that. She shot at things while the gun wasn't even in her hands for crying out loud.

Out of everyone, Jaune legitimately felt like Ren would be the easiest to deal with. No offense meant to his teammate, but his weapons didn't pack enough punch to get through his defensive ice-structures quick enough to be a real threat. He was quick and agile for sure, definitely something that'd be hard to deal with, but Jaune could move about as fast and, again, Ren just didn't have enough punch to get through it.

Unless he did that thing with the pink pulse thingy. That was actually really scary, but Jaune sort of got the feeling that he wanted to keep that particular move as a sort of last resort judging by how tired he seemed afterwards.

So maybe Ren could surprise him and pull a win, but based off of everything he'd seen the teenage Arc felt that Ren was the most manageable out of the group he'd fought with. The thing that the dark haired teen really lacked was outright stopping power; his style was fast and straightforward, but it didn't pack the kind of punch to drop Jaune in one go unless he did something drastic.

Nora? She was going to be scary to deal with. That kind of strength as downright ridiculous, she could bust right through his defenses easy. Now, if he could outspeed her and just kind of pick until he could go in for the kill, things may be doable. But her grenades could limit his mobility, and she wasn't stupid at all.

But Nora was hyperactive and it translated into the crap she did in a fight. She was unpredictable, and that could be hard to deal with. But, hey, that was something he could probably deal with. At least he could actually wear her down with his attacks and actually pester her to tire her out, unlike a certain someone who just seemed to get more juice the more you hit her...

And then there was Pyrrha. Jaune didn't have any illusions about actually handling her; she was a champion fighter, someone even Neo had admitted was strong. He'd probably put up something of a fight, especially if his suspicions about her Semblance were correct and he could sort of play around that, but eventually he was going to either concede or just be beaten if she was as good as she seemed to be.

Asking her to deal with the Nevermore, she hadn't gotten to really show off, but he knew well enough that she was something scary.

Of course, though, there was one person he really did _not_ want to fight. The girl who had torn up a nightclub he had begun frequenting with practically her own bare hands and brute strength, not to mention bullets that flew from her fists and a positively volcanic Semblance ready to erupt at a moment's notice.

It wasn't that Yang scared him. Jaune knew full well that she wasn't a bad person, not really, just that she was... good naturedly violent? She was a very rough and tumble girl, and it translated into a lack of restraint and an excitement for battle. However, he himself was still quite miffed at her for hurting the twins. Almost as much as he was frustrated at himself for just barely being able to keep her down, and despite walking away the winner of their little bout...

It had been Yang who actually _could_ walk away, while he'd crumpled to the ground. After all that, she'd hardly been phased.

That made him angrier than he'd been willing to admit.

While he was perfectly willing to forgive Yang, he hadn't quite done it just yet. And while they may one day put the whole thing far behind them and share a laugh about it in the future...

The whole ordeal was still fresh in his mind.

Between the two of them, Jaune was mainly worried for the property damage they'd cause. They were just way too destructive to pair with one another in a fight unless you expected something to get broken.

So wouldn't you know that it was exactly her that he was matched with?

"... No freaking way..." Jaune groaned loudly, eyes glued to the screen even as a gleeful sound came off from his right.

Turning to regard his chosen opponent for the day, the teenage Arc couldn't help but palm his face as he stood, hiding a rather scathing glare beneath his hand.

"C'mon snowflake, let's get going!" The grin on her face was not nearly fitting with the gesture she was making, her knuckles cracking menacingly. "We're gonna end this day with a Yang!" She exclaimed as though her birthday had come early this year.

This time Jaune wasn't the only one to groan, though he was quite sure no one else felt the kind of stomach-twisting dread he did.

Why did he have to fight her _again_? That was so not fair.

"Ms. Goodwitch, I really hope you didn't like this room..." Jaune mumbled wryly as he passed the teacher, who merely quirked a brow at that statement, on his way to the boy's changing room to get into his gear.

One good thing came of this, though; he could _finally_ get out of these blasted shoes!

* * *

AN: And next chapter we'll be looking at some more people getting into fights.


	8. Chapter 8

So here were are again, another chapter of this story of mine. We're going through another look in the daily life of one Jaune Arc and his friends.

This chapter is a bit more on the "passing time" side. We're working our way through, dropping ideas at what may be coming later on, and so on.

I don't own RWBY by the way. Just making sure we're all aware of that.

* * *

There were some days that Jaune Arc thought the world was out to get him.

Things just didn't want to go his way sometimes, and it was always in such inconvenient ways. One or more of his sisters would get sick on the same day the newest issue of X-ray and Vav released, forcing him to skip out on reading it until they got better since he would have to take care of them. Or maybe he'd turn out to have allergies to something he'd been looking forward to trying, and he'd end up having awful stomach problems afterwards. Oh, or when he attempted to flirt, he would end up sneezing or something and completely make a fool of himself.

Or, in this case, he could be forced into a fight with Yang Xiao-Long.

Again.

Because the first time hadn't been bad enough.

Today wasn't his day, Jaune would bitterly admit. It'd started off so well, too.

"Ready for round two, Snowball?" Yang challenged, her usual confident smirk in place as she stood on the far end of the sparring ring from him, cracking her knuckles.

Jaune sighed. "No, not really." The white haired teen admitted dryly, giving her a light glare. "I'd really wanted to avoid getting into another fight with you for a while considering the damage we did last time."

This drew some odd looks from the uninformed members of their class, but it was ignored easily.

The ring was small. Too small for his tastes, honestly. And completely flat, no terrain to work to his advantage. It was a simple ring all the way out to the rows upon rows of spectator seats which housed the rest of the class.

He needed time to set up. Time that Yang knew full well not to give him. He had no distractions to use to his advantage to even make the field his own anyway.

Jaune Arc had played the battle out in his head several times by now, and the results made him frown.

'There's no way I can beat Yang.' The teen thought to himself dully, not particularly ashamed of the fact. She was stronger than him and his win over her was solely due to surprise and some tricks on his end.

However, with that in mind... he didn't really feel like exerting himself too much in a futile battle, but this could be decent practice for something he'd been meaning to work on.

"Are the two of you prepared for the match?" Glynda Goodwitch's voice cut into his thoughts, the stern woman standing ready at the edge of the circle, directly between the aisle which lead upward between the rows of desks.

Yang's enthusiasm was clear in her response. "Heck yeah, I've been waitin' for this!" She didn't have anything against Jaune, honestly. He was a decent guy, Ruby liked him a lot, and he was pretty handy to work with too.

But at the same time, Yang really liked to fight people and the Arc teen had a win over her that she was itching to reclaim.

"As I'll ever be." Came Jaune's less than pleased response, the teen slipping into a very loose ready stance, his weaponized stick held before him with a single hand.

Noting the dispositions of the teens for future reference, Glynda merely nodded. "Very well. Begin!"

And with that, Yang wasted no time.

"Coming at you, Snowball!" She shouted, using her typical method of rushing an opponent; namely, firing her weapon behind her for momentum as she charged.

Rather than trying any of his usual Semblance tricks, Jaune just watched her fly towards him.

She was moving fast, but hardly at a speed he couldn't react to. With that in mind, the icy teen quickly shifted his position but did not dodge.

As Yang reached him, her eyes narrowed as she realized he hadn't even attempted to dodge, Jaune shocked her by twisting around her blow at the last second, managing to catch her arm in the crook of his staff.

Using a bit of Semblance assisted footwork, namely some timely bursts of wind from his feet in order to shift himself faster than he could have otherwise, Jaune managed to turn himself completely around before Yang's momentum had been completely halted by his maneuver.

As the full force of her charge hit, Jaune continued through on his twist and, using the captured limb, managed to transfer Yang's momentum into a throw, sending her flying several feet.

She landed easily enough, slightly disoriented but not even remotely harmed. "... you didn't do anything like that last time, you know." Yang muttered dryly to herself.

"If you think a little harder, I actually did when I caught your kick." Jaune reminded her in an equally dull tone. "For the rest of that fight I didn't get anywhere near you after you started punching hard enough to powder a freaking cinder block." God, that had been terrifying. She was right where he wanted her one moment and then the very next he was seeing stars with his back on the ground. Not nearly as scary as Neo, though, he would plainly admit to himself.

Yang had yet to give him a phobia of a dessert, after all, unlike Neo who had made it nearly impossible for him to even stomach the idea of neapolitan ice cream for a time.

The blonde snorted, clearly recalling that. "As if. You caught me completely off guard." She had been in the middle of an absolutely badass combo too, when some scraggly looking dude with white hair and a freaking stick had blindsided her.

Jaune shrugged in response. "Meh. Your own fault."

"Yeah, yeah, Frosty... let's get back to the punching." And with that, she rushed him again, though this time she refrained from using her more linear form of movement and just made to get as close as possible to him.

However, she was immediately put off by the simple fact that he allowed her to do just that. Instead of backtracking even a bit, the teen held his ground and just started dodging up close.

It was completely different from how he fought her last time, or how he fought the Grimm.

She launched a straight punch with her right hand, aiming at his solar plexus. He didn't make to block it at all, just sort of twisting to avoid the hit entirely. So following that, she tried to sweep his legs only for him to dodge with a little hop, his feet touching the ground again just a moment before she rose into an uppercut meant for his chin.

A blast of wind hit her from the front, originating from the teen himself, throwing his body back in such a way that her strike missed. The Arc teen traveled through the air almost parallel to the ground before his body just seemed to right itself in such a way that he landed in a handstand.

Yang had fired a shot at the airborne teen, which flew wide as he flipped seemingly at random, only for it to be halted midair by a purple energy.

Off to the side, Goodwitch merely watched silently as she killed the shell's momentum and allowed it to fall to the ground.

"Damnit, Snowball, what's with you today?" Yang griped lowly, irritated by how slippery the other teen was being. She launched another shell, which hit the ground where Jaune's hands had been moments before. "Are you even taking this seriously?" He was just dodging! Outside of his opening move he hadn't made a single attack on her.

The icy teen had blasted air from his hands yet again and was now about ten feet in the air, his head and upper body facing the ground, the small explosion beneath him having been avoided completely. In another seemingly impossible maneuver, he twisted again and was suddenly righted in the air, landing in the same location he'd left with a soft thud and leveling a cheeky smile Yang's way.

"Oh, come on Sunshine." Jaune taunted her, tossing a nickname of his own her way. "You think I want to be your punching bag? No way in hell. You're gonna have to work to hit this pretty face of mine." He joked idly, swinging that makeshift staff of his before him again.

Yang huffed. "That's your game, then? Trying to see which one of us runs out of steam first?" She was far from impressed. Getting into a contest of endurance with her was far from an intelligent decision.

"... no, I seriously just don't want to get punched." Jaune admitted with a chuckle. "This is just as serious to me as it is to you."

Despite that, though, he made no move to approach and didn't take the time to use any aspect of his Semblance to mess with the battlefield like he usually did.

Yang half-heartedly threw a punch and a shell launched from her gauntlet, only to hit nothing as the teen swayed out of the way and Goodwitch caught the projectile again. "... you're kind of killing the mood here, Snowball."

Jaune shrugged in response, ignoring the rather irritated response his actions thus far had drawn from the crowd.

It'd been nearly five minutes and not a single blow had been struck, he had been killing the mood for far more than just Yang it seemed.

"C'mon Jauney! Break her legs or something!" Nora called out from the stands, waving her fist at them. "Or make her a popsicle or something! Start throwing snowballs! Do something neat!"

Ren, seated between Pyrrha and Nora in what would likely become the norm, merely placed a consoling hand on the carrot-top's shoulder before speaking up in low tones. "I believe our leader is testing something."

Next to him, Pyrrha nodded her own agreement. "If I had to guess, I believe Jaune is using this as a chance to play to one of his weaker aspects." As Jaune allowed Yang to again close the distance without complaint, she felt her suspicions strengthen. "Look; he's purposefully allowing her close to him, something far outside his usual fighting style."

Nora pouted, but was forced to concede that point. Jaune hadn't gone more than a minute in real combat without doing something icy, be it shards of ice, walls of ice, freezing the floor, something like that. But here he seemed to only be using the wind control he had.

Again in low tones just above a whisper, Ren began to speak. "It's rather unusual for a Semblance to grant such control over two distinct elements like that." He couldn't help but note, having been particularly interested in the wind manipulation Jaune possessed. Not only could he freely manipulate it away from his body, he seemed to be able to spawn it at a localized area either centimeters away from or even in contact with his body itself. The sudden bursts of force from any part of his body at any given time gave the teen a very potent method of short-range movement.

It was clear that he had focused on the flashier aspect of his Semblance up until now. Ice creation and manipulation, able to impact the battle in large ways. Wind had been more supplementary to that, for the sake of his diversionary tactics or combined with snow in order to blind opponents.

So now he was working on using the wind in a more direct way, as a supplement to close combat.

Or, at least for now, dodging.

Ren would admit that he appreciated their leader's line of thinking. Why simply throw everything at your opponent for a simple spar when you would be better served shoring up less solid aspects of your capabilities?

Perhaps he would speak to Jaune later on. While he was doing a fine job dodging, it was quite clear to the dark haired boy that dodging was _all_ his leader felt comfortable doing. With the ability to change the direction of his movement on a dime like that, there were many things the other boy could be doing with that kind of skill.

"DAMN IT SNOWBALL, STAND THE HELL STILL!" Yang's shout drew Ren from his internal monologue, the boy watching with a wince as she descended upon the icy teen like a meteor.

Jaune was clearly sweating by now, having done nothing but dodge Yang's ever faster attacks, the girl seemingly kicking up her pace with every missed punch. It was becoming closer and closer each punch she threw, and sooner or later one would get through to him.

'That's where I'll call it.' He decided to himself, frantically avoiding the girl's wrath as best he could, Yang's hands having become little more than yellow blurs due to the speed she was throwing her punches at. 'Don't think I could even take more than one of those to be honest.' He couldn't help but wonder if the strength gained by her Semblance was directly proportional to her anger, or if it was a set amount that she reached just by getting mad. Actually, he really knew next to nothing about her Semblance outside of the fact that he didn't want to be hit by it. Was she even using it at the moment?

But for the moment, he just kept swaying out of the way, the wind generated by each punch blowing his hair with every near miss.

Eventually, one did get through.

"Gah!" Jaune coughed out as the girl's first strike of the match landed, a solid jab straight to his stomach. Even through his Aura, the hit was painful and would doubtless leave a bruise.

It also had enough force to send the teen flying out of the ring, nearly landing in the crowd of students if not for Ms. Goodwitch's Semblance catching him midair.

"Yang Xiao-Long is victor by ring-out." The woman announced dryly, gesturing towards the blonde girl in order to halt any further conflict. "Ms. Xiao-Long, you displayed excellent control and ability, righting yourself from Mr. Arc's counter and dominating the pace of battle following..." She then turned her gaze upon the suspended teen, who couldn't help but smile sheepishly at the look she was leveling him. "Despite Mr. Arc's refusal to take initiative or even retaliate."

Yang let out a huff, crossing her arms and glaring at Jaune. "I can't even call this a win, Snowball." She griped. "You're still up by one since you didn't even fight me this time."

"Sorry Yang." Jaune replied, only slightly apologetic. "I figured it'd be better to work more on dodging when people get too close, and you seemed like the best person to work on that with." Her oppressive close-combat style was perfect for it, honestly. She was simple and straightforward, but fast and furious. And he really needed to work on fights up close, as his disastrous bout with Neo and even their last fight showed.

"Be that as it may, Mr. Arc, in the future I ask that you at least attempt to fight back." Ms. Goodwitch cut in, lowering the teen to his feet. "While you displayed more than adequate skill in avoiding Ms. Xiao-Long's strikes, you clearly had no idea how to respond at such a close range. Based upon what we've seen of you during the initiation, you specialize in a more mid to long range fighting style." She paused for a moment, pursing her lips. "... While it is admirable that you recognize a fault in your capabilities and are attempting to remedy it, this class is intended to assist you in refining all of your combat skills into a unique style. I cannot offer advice on how best to make use of your abilities if I do not see them in use." Another brief pause, as though the woman was debating what to say, before she nodded. "Being aware of your weaknesses is important, but you will not see victory without playing to your strengths."

He nodded in response. "I'll keep that in mind in the future. Sorry for that, Ms. Goodwitch." It'd been made clear that the last bit of her speech was meant to be something all of them took into account.

"See that you do." The stern professor replied, before returning to her scroll to announce the next match-up. "Please vacate the combat floor to allow for the next combatants; Russel Thrush and Nora Valkyrie!"

As Jaune returned to his seat, he couldn't help but laugh at the sheer enthusiasm that lit up behind Nora's eyes as she leaped from her desk down to the floor.

* * *

The days had passed by in something of a blur for JNPR and RWBY.

It wasn't unpleasant, not to Jaune at least. He enjoyed all of the time he and his friends spent together, especially since he didn't ever really have friends in his previous schools.

Not that he was from some depressing background or anything, he just never really connected with anyone outside of his sisters.

Up until recently, that is.

Things had begun fairly innocently. The first day of class hadn't been bad at all. Port was longwinded, Oobleck talked a mile a minute, and Goodwitch was stern and intimidating, but they all knew their subjects well enough.

... though conveying said subject to an audience may have been an issue, Jaune was sure it would work out eventually.

Day one had been easy. Day two Port had made one of them fight a freaking Boarbatusk.

Which he just so happened to have in the classroom. Because, really, why not?

Snow Angel had made short work of it... but their team dynamic seemed to suffer some issues from what he could tell.

It wasn't really his business, but he'd heard some of it... they seemed to have worked it out within the day, though, unless there was more he hadn't noticed.

Again, though, none of his business. If Ruby or one of the others came to him to talk he'd listen, but he wasn't keeping an ear to the ground for that.

Days went by and soon enough they were close to the weekend and the free time which came with it.

As of now, it was lunch.

Team RWBY and team JNPR had formed a fairly strong friendship over the week, he was glad to say. It probably had a lot to do with them being right across the hall from one another, as well as his preexisting relationship with Ruby herself... and Yang he supposed.

They'd claimed a table for themselves in the center of the room, seated with each team on one side of the table across from the other. It'd become a pretty normal lunchtime ritual to just sit and talk among themselves, while Blake just sort of tolerated their presence and read her book.

Really, though, it was amusing just how content the seemingly introverted girl was surrounded by such a rowdy bunch.

Case in point? His very own partner, Nora Valkyrie.

"And so, there we were, in the middle of the night..." Nora began as though telling a ghost story around the fire.

"It was day." Ren chimed in blandly.

"We were surrounded by Ursai..."

"They were Beowolves."

"DOZENS OF THEM!"

"... there were two of them."

"But me and Ren took them down! And made a boatload of lien selling Ursa skin rugs." Nora settled back down, satisfied, with her arms crossed.

Ren sighed. "She's been having this recurring dream for nearly a month now, and the details change just a little each time she tells it."

Jaune snickered at his partner's antics. "Wouldn't an Ursa turn into smoke before you can skin them?" He couldn't help but ask, bursting Nora's bubble.

The carrot-top pouted. "Mean."

The teen couldn't help but laugh. He'd ended up with a fun partner. "Now, now, how mean can the guy who makes you free snowcones and popsicles really be?" Jaune asked.

"... you're right." Nora admitted begrudgingly. "You're not mean... just..." She blinked. "Uh..." Her nose scrunched up and her eyebrows furrowed as she tried to figure out what words would best describe being mean without actually being mean. It was cute, if he was being honest, just how serious she took this issue. "... I'll get back to you on that!" She assured them, before returning to her meal.

This drew chuckles or eyerolls from everyone at the table, barring Blake who was nose deep in a book.

Hearing a small commotion, Ruby spoke up. "Yeah... that's more like mean." She noted, nodding over towards another table with a frown.

Jaune blinked, turning to look.

Cardin Winchester and his team were all seated at or standing near a table together, but there was one other person who didn't look really comfortable to be there. A rabbit Faunus girl who was squirming about frantically as the four boys made fun of her ears.

Cardin was sprawled out next to her, back leaned against the table and limbs splayed wide as though to take up as much space as he could, which seemed to discomfort the girl quite a bit just due to the proximity.

Russel and the other two, Sky and Dove, were just all around being asshats with their hands over their heads in a mockery of bunny ears as they continued to ramble on about something or another.

A growl creeped up into Jaune's throat at that, but he left it be for now. As much as he disliked their particular brand of idiocy, the morons hadn't moved beyond verbal harassment and just all around being too close. It hadn't gotten as far as physical problems, and he didn't want to step in and draw more attention to the girl as a "victim" or anything like that. She already had it bad enough.

"... Winchester is such an asshat." Jaune couldn't help but mutter. The dick had tried to shove him into a rocket-locker for crying out loud! As much as Jaune thought that had been a really shitty thing to do, he had to admit the thought was sort of funny. The same kind of funny as an anvil dropping onto a cartoon character, though. It's funny until it happens to a real person.

He'd given Cardin the whole "three strikes" deal in his head when it came to messing with him, and he was still on two at the moment after the jerk had knocked his books out of his hand when he'd been walking down the hallway.

The general consensus was that, yes, Cardin was in fact an ass. The other three weren't _terrible_ on their own, but Cardin sort of instigated them into crap. Hell, Dove even seemed downright timid without the others around and Russel was much calmer by himself. He'd held an actual conversation with Sky, too, and he wasn't half bad. The three of them just sort of band wagoned with their leader.

It all just sort of came back to Winchester pressuring them into things since he was the leader, and the best fighter on their team.

Cardin wasn't top of the class, but he wasn't near the bottom either. Anyone on team RWBY or JNPR could beat him, for sure, but he trounced everyone else pretty easy.

The guy was just big, big and strong, and he did have some idea how to handle that mace of his. Jaune could give credit to that much.

"... I say we break his legs!" Nora shot up, eyes gleaming suddenly as a genius idea hit her.

Jaune rolled his eyes. "Down, Nora." He chuckled a bit at the huff this earned him. "He's a jerk, but he's not really hurting anyone, so we can't take things that far or we're in the wrong." Yeah it was mean the way they treated the Faunus at the school, but verbal harassment was easy to just brush off. Or, at least, he felt that way. Words were just words, after all.

And then that all flew out the window as something caught his attention. "Ow, t-that hurts!" The girl cried out.

Head snapping back towards the table, Jaune's gloved hands clenched. Winchester was now yanking rather roughly on the girl's ear, practically forcing her closer to him just to try and relieve some of the pain from the tugging on her ear.

They were all in their combat gear, which was also their usual every day clothing as a matter of fact, heading straight into sparring class where they had simply been told to arrive prepared to battle.

This wasn't particularly relevant, aside from the fact that it meant Cardin was in full armor.

"P-please stop..." She practically whimpered.

Well, that was just the last straw. With that single action, Cardin had used up all of his strikes for a lifetime, and now Jaune was going to get involved because it looked like no one else was.

With that in mind, he released a frosty sigh, something that the others all took note of as the temperature around them had dropped a bit. "Uh, Jaune..." Ruby squeaked, eyes wide.

"... I changed my mind Nora." Jaune offered with a sudden grin as he stood up, a positively devilish look that seemed almost out of place on his lips. "I'm going to go hurt Cardin now."

The others just kind of blinked, watching as he slipped out from the table and began to stroll pleasantly down the aisle. As he walked off, he heard a few mumbles from the table he'd left.

"Should we stop him?" Ruby whispered frantically, eyes darting back and forth between her partner and her sister.

Yang's response was, predictably, to shrug and turn her eyes towards the coming fiasco eagerly.

Weiss huffed. "If he wishes to fight someone else's battle, that is his prerogative."

This drew a baffled look from Ruby. "Preroga-whatnow?" She muttered, quirking a brow at her partner and her big words.

"... she's saying he can do as he pleases." Ren chimed in quietly, twisting slightly to regard the coming storm with a small frown. "Pyrrha, your opinion?"

The Champion of Mistral merely frowned. "Cardin and his team are showing atrocious behavior... if Jaune wishes to involve himself in it, I see no reason to stop him."

Nora had turned around in her seat and was now bouncing up and down excitedly as her partner almost lazily ambled down the aisle.

"Hm... what to do, what to do..." Jaune mumbled quietly to himself, feeling tendrils of invisible energy forming at his hand, the temperature directly surrounding him dropping quite a bit in response to him tapping into his Semblance.

"Hah, I told you they were real. What a freak!" Cardin laughed loudly, clenching his hand around the girl's ear and drawing a pained yelp from her.

As the other three began to echo the sentiment, things suddenly went silent.

"Cardin." A voice cut in, drawing everyone's attention to the white haired teen who had just arrived to the scene.

Jaune smiled brightly, though it didn't quite reach his eyes, and laid one hand onto Cardin's forearm before grasping quite tightly around the larger teen's limb. "I think the lady asked you to stop."

"... Arc, you've got three seconds to let go of my arm." Cardin warned, eyes narrowing.

This drew chuckles from Jaune. Aw, how cute, Cardin thought he was scary. "No, Cardin, you're misunderstanding something here." Jaune replied, shaking his head chidingly. "Y'see, it's not you who gets to do that little countdown thing." The white haired teen explained patiently, a smirk slipping onto his lips.

Jaune's eyes, which had been narrowed practically to slits, shot wide open and revealed a particularly bright glow even as his grin widened. "It's me, Cardin. I'm the one in control here."

Seeing that all of a sudden, Cardin had gulped and released the girl's ear almost on accident, allowing her to slump back and watch the scene with startled eyes.

"You're going to leave this girl alone." Jaune began, the temperature directly around him dropping well into freezing. "You're going to leave everyone you're messing with alone, actually." He corrected himself. "If _you_ don't get the hell out of my sight within the next three seconds, I'm going to give you a case of frostbite so severe that I don't think they'll be able to save your arm, Aura or not."

He'd had plenty of time to gather the power for that, he could freeze Cardin's arm from hand to elbow right now, especially with his hand in contact with the guy for that whole duration. It'd take just a couple seconds to do it and he could potentially end Winchester's career as a Hunter before it began. Maybe he wouldn't lose the whole arm, but enough damage would come of it that Jaune was fairly sure it'd be nonfunctional, at least to the point where he'd be unable to wield his mace.

Aura protected people from cold, that was true, but that was when it was on the surface and spread all out. Much like with a weapon, if you focused on one spot and hit it hard enough, consistently enough, you could deal damage through Aura. And while Aura did help facilitate healing, there were limits to what it could do.

This wasn't like what he'd done to Yang that night. There, he'd spawned ice to form a solid block around her body to keep her still. It was regular, normal ice, freezing in temperature. But Aura meant that a person like Yang or Cardin could stay in that block of ice for quite some time without any health detriments, since their bodies would be protected from the harmful aspects of the cold.

For something like this, where he just needed to introduce extreme cold to the tissue just beneath the skin? When he was good and pissed, and had time to charge himself up, had a grip on someone, and was running on a full tank of Aura himself, a full tank when he had been noted to have an abnormally high amount of Aura in the first place?

He could just funnel his power on into Cardin's arm until it got through. Brute force was applicable here.

People had started to take notice of the situation, and how could they not with the scene as it was? The white-haired kid with the ice powers was practically holding someone at gunpoint.

Having plainly heard the threat and the tone in their leader's voice, the remaining members of team JNPR debated intervening for their own reasons... but Ren made no move to interrupt.

He simply regarded the scene with an unreadable expression, clearly deep in thought on something.

Since Ren didn't act, Nora didn't either. She had no real reason to step in, because honestly she thought Jauney being a badass like that was really cool and if anyone deserved that it would be Cardin. But if Ren thought it had to stop, she'd trust her oldest friend to make the best decision.

And with the rest of her team not moving from their spot, Pyrrha merely watched the altercation with an uncomfortable look on her face.

Team RWBY was having a similar dilemma. "Yang he's going to kill someone we have to stop him oh God oh God!" Ruby was practically hyperventilating as this went on, wide silver eyes darting back and forth between her furious friend and the bully.

Just as she was about to use her Semblance and dart over to try and keep Jaune from doing something he would regret, a hand clamped down on her shoulder. "Yang!?" Ruby squeaked, turning to glare at her sister for stopping her. "Let go!"

"Nuh uh." Yang shook her head. "Rubes, you don't wanna mess with Frosty when he's pissed. Winchester better learn that fast." An angry Jaune Arc was something she was at least cautious about, because he'd beat her once and it wasn't a hundred percent luck. After watching the guy freeze a giant Death Stalker from the inside out, she figured that his threat was more than just something to scare the jerk.

But pissed off Snowman wasn't a killer. He wasn't the mouth-frothing loony kind of mad, he was the calm and collected kind of mad. So more likely than not he'd keep from actually doing something to cripple Winchester.

Weiss merely frowned. "I doubt he would actually go through with it, Ruby." She spoke up, trying to calm the girl down. "Crippling a classmate would warrant severe punishment no matter what the rest of the story was. Even that buffoon is smart enough to know that." While she referred to him in a derogatory fashion, there was no real venom there.

But he kept calling her Snow Angel, so she was justified.

Blake had put her book down and was staring intently at the scene, eyes wide and unblinking. She said nothing in response to her team's concerns, just watching as though shellshocked by the events playing out.

And Cardin, well... he seemed to realize that this wasn't just an idle threat, but was skeptical. "Arc, don't mess around with me or I'll knock you around like the ragdoll you dress like. Back the hell off." The teen stood to his full height, putting him a good head taller than Jaune.

The icy Arc teen merely continued to regard him, eyes still that same pale blue and hands still radiating an intense cold. "One." Jaune announced.

Cardin tried to yank his arm back, but Jaune just stepped closer to him and kept his hold, with that same unnerving smile. "Two!" He said next, and the brunette teen grit his teeth as he began to feel cold spreading down his arm.

"Let GO!" The burly teen growled, swinging his fist towards Jaune's face.

His arm was slapped away by the forearm of the smaller boy, who's grin turned downright sinister. "Three! Time's up, Cardin!"

And with that, Jaune let his restraint slip and his power rush towards the warm flesh of the other boy's arm.

Cardin's eyes went wide as he began feeling the heat practically drain from his arm, frantically stepping back even as Jaune continued to walk towards him, keeping his arm firmly held.

"ALRIGHT! LET GO! LET ME GO! I WON'T BOTHER ANYONE AGAIN, JUST LET GO YOU LUNATIC!" Cardin shouted, frantic at this point as he was starting to feel a stinging pain in his arm, which combined with the bitter cold was starting to prove that the Arc could do exactly what he'd said he would.

And just like that Jaune released the teen, allowing him to fall back onto his ass and cradle his arm to his chest. "Glad we had this talk, Cardin." He said, glaring at the downed teen. "Oh, and let's not do that again any time soon; it's really hard controlling my Semblance in such a small space like that, another few seconds and I might have just pumped it all through on accident and froze all of the blood in your body at once." At this point he was exaggerating. Doing that would take quite a bit more energy and wouldn't be anywhere near fast. "Oh, you may wanna go see the nurse now. Frostbite is a serious issue, y'know."

He'd only really given him a slight case of frostnip, hardly enough for concern really. Some redness, itching, irritation, but no permanent damage. He was lying through his teeth about the control; his Semblance was not difficult in the slightest to keep in check.

Cardin, however, did not need to know that.

With that said, Cardin promptly picked himself off the ground and scrambled out of the lunch room, his team following quickly behind.

After that had been settled, Jaune immediately turned to regard the wide-eyed Faunus who he'd stepped in to help. "Hey, are you alright?" He asked gently.

She blinked. "Uhm... y-yes. My ear hurts a bit, but I'm fine. Thank you..."

"Jaune Arc." He introduced himself with a small smile, blinking as something came to mind. "Oh, here." He reached out for one of the napkins on the table, holding it in his hand. After a moment, a slightly elongated cylinder of ice formed on top of it, and Jaune quickly wrapped the napkin around it before passing it to the girl. "That'll help a bit with the pain, maybe?"

A small giggle came from her, and she pressed the makeshift icepack to her abused ear, a small sigh of relief slipping from her as the cool feeling soothed some of the pain. "Thank you. My name is Velvet Scarlatina." After a moment, she sort of frowned "I... didn't really want to resort to violence with them, but I guess it was getting out of hand..." She sighed, clenching one hand into her skirt. "I'm a second year, I shouldn't be getting into violent altercations with the freshmen."

Jaune frowned at that, settling onto the seat next to her. "We're here to learn how to settle our problems with violence in the first place, though, aren't we?" He questioned, none too subtly bringing up the fact that they were in a school specifically designed to teach them how to slay monsters and protect their people.

Velvet looked away. "... I don't want to cause any trouble." She admitted a bit sullenly.

"That's fine; I'll cause trouble on your behalf, then." Jaune replied, drawing a surprised look from her. He snorted at that. "Look, Velvet, I get that you don't want to start some sort of blood feud with people weaker than you. I get that, really I do... but you can't just let them push you around like you're a doormat. That just makes those morons think it's okay to keep it up." They weren't just going to get bored, because it was always possible to get a reaction out of the shy ones just from being around them. Ignoring them wasn't an option either when they were willing to cross physical boundaries.

"I don't think I'd like someone I just met fighting my battles for me..." Velvet mumbled, a bit put off. "It seems... insulting, I suppose."

"Then be insulted all you like." Jaune shot back jovially, a small smile on his lips. "If you're not going to stand up for yourself, I'm glad to do it until you start... even if only to get rid of me."

It became clear to Velvet at that point just what he was implying with his words, and she sighed. "... that's hardly fair to do to someone you just met, you know..." She pouted at the rather blatant manipulation.

He shrugged. "It's not just about you, you know." Jaune said after a few moments of silence. "Not to sound like an ass, but I didn't do this just for your sake. Cardin was going to run into a bigger fish in the pond sooner or later, but the longer it took the more waves he'd cause in the mean time." A shrug. "Better to just get it over with and be done with his particular brand of assholery."

That made enough sense to her, she would admit. "I see... well..." After a bit of fidgeting, playing at the hem of her skirt once more, the Faunus simply offered a small smile. "Thank you again for helping me either way."

Jaune shrugged. "While I do say this wasn't just for you, I'll admit that Jaune Arc lives for the sake of swooping in to save beautiful ladies from danger." He shot her a playful smile. "You'd fit the bill for that."

A blush played at the brunette's cheeks for a moment, before she looked away in a huff. "You're contradicting yourself so much right now!"

"That, my dear Velvet, is all part of the charm." He joked.

"I'm your dear and we've only just met?" She shot back with a small grin of her own.

"More rabbit than deer I admit, but the ears are absolutely adorable so exceptions can be made."

"Jaaaaune!" Ruby, who had finally been released from Yang's grip, made her way over and arrived just in time to catch that last bit. "That was as bad as one of Yang's puns!" She griped, settling in on the other side of the Arc teen and startling Velvet.

Suddenly, the seats at the previously unoccupied table filled up. Team RWBY piled in on one side of Jaune, with the leader herself right next to him while the others settled in at her side. On the other side of Velvet, a thump announced the arrival of Nora as she plopped down onto the seat next to the rabbit Faunus.

Velvet squeaked at the sudden arrival of more people, before Jaune's laughter drew her attention back.

"Now you guys show up, just when I'm all alone with a pretty girl?" He joked, throwing a humorous glare towards the small girl who had first settled herself in.

While Ruby merely met his glare with a put-off pout, someone else felt the need to comment.

"Duh, Snowball." Yang, who had taken the seat right next to her little sister, chimed in. "She can't be having her crush all by his lonesome with someone else, that's just not going to fly."

"YANG!" Ruby squeaked, turning with a furious blush and an appalled look on her face. "I do not have a crush! On anyone! Not a single person! Especially not Jaune!" She rambled off frantically, too caught up in her motion to see the other's reaction to that.

Eyerolls and chuckles again, but Jaune felt the need to be dramatic and thrust his hands to his chest, clutching at his heart as though he'd been stabbed. " _Especially_ not Jaune? That's just cruel."

Turning back to the other team leader with her eyes wide, Ruby quickly began trying to salvage her previous statement. "Er, I mean, not that you're not good looking or nice or anything, but uhm I just d-don't, I mean, Y-Yang keeps implying it and I don't want people to get the wrong idea! That's all!" She breathed out a mile a minute, eyes darting around nervously even as she began to chuckle to herself in an unconvincing fashion.

Seeing the amused eyes of the entire table on her, the girl merely released a pathetic whimper in humiliation and retreated as deep into her hood as she physically could.

"Heya!" Nora spoke up, breaking the silence as though it had never existed. "I'm Nora, and this is Ren, and you know Jauney, and that's Pyrrha! We're his team!" She introduced herself to the newest face in their group. "And I, for one, am a firm advocate of the breaking of Cardin's legs."

Seeing the positively scandalized look on Velvet's face, Ren quickly interjected to run damage control as per the norm. "What she means to say is that none of us care for Winchester's behavior, and we're more than happy to offer any help we can in discouraging him." Also that she wanted to break his legs, but Ren wisely chose to leave that out of _his_ version of the story.

"O-Oh..." The Faunus mumbled, surprised both by the declaration and the sudden influx of people at what had previously been an entirely empty table. "Uhm... t-thank you, but it's fine..."

"No, it's not." Pyrrha cut her off firmly, though still with that same gentle smile of hers. "Their behavior is abhorrent and needs to stop. It's not a matter of who's fighting what battle, this simply needs to be put to an end."

A round of agreements came from the table in varying degrees of enthusiasm, and Velvet couldn't help but smile.

Goodness, what an interesting bunch of first-years they had picked up.

* * *

"You know something, Melanie?" Jaune mumbled quietly, quirking a brow at his friend as the girl sat at the bar next to him.

"Yes, Snowflake?" She probed with a quirked brow, tossing a smirk his way. That was his thinking tone, which meant this would be a fun one.

"It's really weird that all of my good fortune started out the way it did." Jaune admitted after a moment, propping his head on one hand. "Seriously. I essentially break the law for my own benefit and suddenly everything starts falling into place like it was meant to be from the start." Running the other hand through his white locks, he shook his head at the absurdity. "Isn't that like the exact opposite of how a hero's backstory should begin?"

Melanie just shrugged. "Deep, Snowflake. Too deep for me to concern myself with. Try Miltia when she's done with her counter-watch." She nodded towards the far wall, where her sister stood eyeing the bar like a hawk as one particularly shady man was flirting with one of the female patrons.

Jaune chuckled. "Y'know, that's why I tell you these things." He replied, drawing a curious hum from her. "When I hear you put it like that, the whole question seems kind of worthless in the first place. I should go to you with all of my heavy thinking."

This drew a snicker from the long-haired Malachite twin. "Snowflake, you're flattering me... please, continue." She purred.

Eyes rolling, the teen snapped off a short wave to Miltiades as her gaze slipped their way for a moment, which earned him a brief wave in response before the red-clad girl returned to watching the pair at the counter.

"She really does take this job seriously." Jaune said, honestly a bit impressed by the dedication.

A shrug came from Melanie in response. "Snowflake, she hates the idea of date-rape drugs almost as much as the assholes that use them. The thought that someone could slip you something and you'd be helpless to stop them later pisses her off like nothing else." Seeing the rather potent look of anger that came to the teen's face, the girl allowed herself a giggle before leaning in to gently caress his face with the back of her hand. "I know what you're thinking, and it's sweet of you, but nothing like that happened to her." Again, though, that protective anger towards her sibling was a very large plus in the boy's favor. "Miltia just hates the idea of losing control to someone like that."

Jaune calmed immediately. "Sorry if I got a little ahead of myself." He muttered. "Just, with what you two do... well, it was just a thought that hit me." With him having already told off Winchester today, the thought of that kind of put him out of sorts. These two were friends just as much as the people he'd met at Beacon, after all.

Melanie offered him a smile. "We're able to handle ourselves pretty well, Jaune... at least until that blonde bitch showed up." She muttered that last part bitterly. "You said she ended up going to Beacon too?"

Wincing, he replied in a rather careful tone. "Er, yeah... she's... well... very willful?" Jaune chuckled nervously at the thought of the blonde brawler, before continuing on. "Well, as mad as I still am at her, I can't really avoid her either since she's in the room right across from mine. As if she would let me anyway... Yang is just like that."

A huff from Melanie was his answer. "Much as I hate to admit it, that girl kicked us around like we were nothing." She and Miltia had never been manhandled so much in any fight.

Honestly, a part of her had been terrified of just what was going to happen since they couldn't stop her. They were useless against that kind of strength, and the thought did still plague both of them... but Melanie figured Miltiades had been the one to dwell on it more.

Of course, their knight in scraggly clothing had burst in all of a sudden and taken over the fight.

All of that righteous anger on his face, the steely look to his eyes, and the way his entire body seemed to thrum with power even as the world around him froze...

Jaune was handsome in his own right, and his personality had it's own charms... but Melanie couldn't help but admit that angry Jaune was simultaneously the coldest and hottest thing she had ever seen.

 _Especially_ when he'd been that angry over her and Miltiades.

Even now, she repressed a small shiver at the memory of his face as he'd held her in his arms.

"Bah... Yang does that to everyone." Jaune groaned, remembering every fight the girl had in their sparring class. "She's an absolute juggernaut with a Semblance that's almost unfair; there are maybe two ways to beat her, but neither are really realistic at all!" He griped.

Melanie quirked a brow. "Do tell."

Jaune snorted. "Her Semblance is kind of weird. She gets mad, she gets stronger and starts getting harder to put down because every hit you land is just powering her up more. And worse, she has high enough Aura reserves to just ignore most hits in the first place." He explained, idly flexing his hand around for a moment before he made a few chess pieces out of ice. A handful of pawns, a rook, and a knight.

Arranging the pawns around in a semi-circle surrounding the rook and knight, Jaune tapped the table. "See, Yang would be the rook here. Imagine I'm the knight, yeah? The pawns are just some of Junior's guys with guns or something." Seeing her bemused nod, he continued. "You can't overwhelm Yang with numbers. It's just not happening unless you've got a literally endless horde and boatloads of time." With that, he gestured to the knight specifically. "Someone fast can dodge her freely for as long as they want, she's fast, but not overbearingly fast." He could keep ducking and dodging her until his stamina waned, his little display in sparring had been a matter of staying close while dodging. In a real fight, he'd be far from her fists. "So you distract her with speed, make it hard for her to move maybe." Small blocks of ice appeared on the table around the rook and knight. Tapping the pawns, he spoke again. "Then just pepper her with attacks and keep it going. Keep her from getting the little guys by any means necessary, and try to grind her down as much as possible."

He frowned, tipping the rook over almost wistfully. "But, again, that's just not likely to work. Chances are Yang will just blast through the "knight" in that scenario and take out the pawns, before coming back to finish the whoever she ignored first." He shrugged, resetting the pieces and waving the ice blocks into little particles that scattered in the air. The pawns followed shortly, leaving just the knight and rook. With another gesture, the knight had company in the form of a queen. "Y'know what's likely the strongest piece in chess, Melanie?"

"The queen, yeah." She replied, viewing the little ice piece with interest. "Can move any direction in any number of squares, you only get one each."

"Yep. You might get a more intelligent answer from a pro, they may say it's the knight cuz' it's unpredictable, or the king since it's the one you need to play your game around, or whatever... I wouldn't know, I don't play the game much." He shrugged. "But in terms of sheer power, the queen wins out." It can just do the most things. There were two bishops and two rooks, and a single queen could do all of their jobs but better. He set that piece down behind the rook. "This is option two... and it's even less likely, with my skillset that is."

Melanie quirked a brow. "Lemme guess; it's to just overpower her?" She asked, amused.

"Exactly that." Jaune agreed dully, simply ramming the queen into the rook and tipping it. He sighed, shaking his head ruefully. "That's all I can think of to really beat Yang. Hit her so hard she can't get up, or just wear her out. Those... aren't really realistic, though." If he could hit her hard enough to just drop her, they wouldn't be having this chat, and if he was trying to out last Yang then he'd still be in the middle of that fight he wagered.

Tilting her head curiously, Melanie began drumming on the table curiously. "What about catching her like you did before?" She asked.

Jaune shook his head. "She knows I can do that, now, so it's not something I'm gonna land on her again. If I so much as lay a hand on her she'll know what I'm up to." It took a second or two to even start spreading the ice like that, and only her surprise at his audacity kept her from just trying to throw him off.

She huffed. "Troublesome blonde." Melanie felt slightly better to hear that Jaune couldn't beat her either, but at the same time it did make her uncomfortable again.

Nodding in agreement, Jaune shattered the remaining pieces with a flick of his wrist. "... if she does start trouble here, though, I'll find a way to kick her ass for it." He mentioned after a bit.

"And you plan to do that... how?" Melanie, having just sat through his cute little demonstration, was failing to see what he thought he could do.

A shrug. "I'll figure something out. She doesn't get to just come in here and hurt you guys. If it ever happens again I swear on my name as an Arc I'll get her back for it."

And again with that intensity... Melanie grinned. "Miltia needs to be around when you say stuff like that. She'd be swooning right now, I'm sure."

At the mention of the other sister, Jaune put a thoughtful look on his face. "You know, that may be something..." He said suddenly, another quick series of gestures making more of his little chess pieces.

Melanie giggled at the almost childish look of excitement on his face. "Something just hit you, Snowflake?"

"Yep." Jaune chuckled, arranging the pieces again. This time a knight piece and two bishops surrounded the rook. "See, fighting Yang one to one or with just some goons isn't enough. You'll either slip up against her before she goes down or she'll ignore you and drop the goons first, at which point it goes back to point one." Seeing the nod, he continued. "And overpowering her is a moot point; if we could do that, this whole conversation would never happen." Another nod, as Melanie considered briefly how it would feel to be able to just drop the girl in a single kick. "But if a few decently skilled people went against her, it'd be easier."

Another nod from her. "She was more manageable before Miltia was out, yeah. We managed to handle her until then." But after that was a massacre.

"And if you had another person to cover the two of you?" Jaune hinted slightly.

Picking up where this was going, Melanie shrugged. "Yeah, that'd be nice. Between the two of us and you we'd have her, I bet." But, of course, the idea that it took three of them ganging up on the blonde was depressing in it's own right. Melanie didn't quite appreciate that, no matter that it was true. "It's painful to admit we'd need so much help to deal with one girl our age, though, Frosty."

Jaune snorted. "Yang isn't normal, Melanie. She's a monster." If you removed her Semblance from the equation and just took her sheer skill and ferocity into account, she was a dangerous opponent. If you took _that_ away and just fought someone with high Aura capacity and her Semblance it would also be a hard fight.

Yang was both of those things in one and it was oppressively difficult to deal with unless you just had the right skillset.

He didn't. Neither did the twins.

But the three of them together could scrape out a win, he imagined. All three of them were faster than Yang, enough to dodge her. With two others to cover, slipping up likely wouldn't be a concern as they could keep one another safe if such a thing did happen, and between them that would be enough damage accumulated to at least drain Yang's Aura.

Furthermore... he'd learned rather recently that while Yang had a large reserve of Aura, he had more. It didn't outright dwarf her, but it had been noted that Jaune had abnormally large Aura reserves.

"Monster is right. You didn't see how she held Junior's family jewels hostage; that was... partially hilarious, but mainly cruel." Miltiades, having left her previous post, chimed in as she slipped onto the empty stool on Jaune's empty side. "Having fun, are we?" She asked curiously, looking over the makeshift game board the Arc teen had turned their counter into.

"I suppose so." Jaune replied with a small grin. "What happened with the guy?" He asked, curious.

Miltiades rolled her eyes. "He finally took no for an answer and left the poor girl be." She was giving the benefit of the doubt to the man in this one as he was clearly inebriated and probably didn't even understand half of the words being said. But, eventually, he'd just backed off.

"That's always good." Jaune nodded, snapping his hand and dispersing the little chess pieces. "Anything neat happen with you all while I was away?"

Both the twins snorted, almost simultaneously. "The only thing worth talking about is Roman showing up asking about you." Melanie admitted dryly, quirking a brow towards the teen. "He said something about wanting to meet you."

Jaune blinked. "Roman Torchwick? Why?" He glanced around to make sure they weren't within hearing range of anyone not in the know, but seeing only the suited goons and the twins in this general area he relaxed a bit. "I know Neo is his partner in crime or whatever, but why would he care about me?" That wasn't exactly a reassuring thing to hear.

Miltiades shrugged. "Dunno."

"Well, wait..." Jaune mumbled to himself, suddenly remembering his little meeting with the thief. "How long ago was he asking about me? Cuz' I ran into him the night Yang busted the club up, just before I got here as a matter of fact."

That surprised the two of them. "Huh..." Melanie narrowed her eyes a bit. "He was looking a couple of days ago, Snowball." So whatever he wanted was more than a little meet and greet.

Jaune picked up that much as well. "Weird... maybe I'll see if Neo has anything to say about that." He pondered idly, scratching his cheek in thought before promptly discarding that train of thinking. "Right, well, anyway I've got something I wanted to mention to the two of you."

"Oh? Go on." Melanie purred in response, leaning her shoulder up against his flirtatiously. This drew her a glare from her sister, whom she merely tossed a playful look towards. The red-clad girl merely sighed, before returning to her neutral expression.

Flushing from the sudden contact, Jaune coughed a bit before delivering his statement. "Right... so my teammates wanted to meet you guys, since you're friends of mine... Nora in particular was adamant about it."

Small frowns tugged at their lips, before the two nodded slowly, almost in sync. "... Well, this is a nightclub." Miltiades began dryly, resting her head in her hands on the countertop. "Business is business after all, so we're not going to turn them away..."

Melanie picked up where she left off, having remained in her previous position of leaning on Jaune, now resting her head on his shoulder. "... But they're gonna have to behave, for one."

"And if they don't already know..." Miltia mumbled, shooting another glare towards her unrepentant sister. "Then we're not keen on letting them know just what goes on around here."

It was kind of an open secret that Junior's place was, in a lot of ways, a den of crime. Nothing could be proven and the authorities had been properly bribed in just such a way that there were no real inquiries made of what little suspicion couldn't simply be waived off. However, if someone didn't actually know that then they didn't need to.

After all, if they had no idea this was where many of the crooks and criminals of Vale frequently did business, they weren't involved with that kind of business in the first place.

Jaune nodded. "Of course not." He rolled his eyes at that. "I've got no plans on telling them if they're not already in the know, and if they do know and make it a point to ask I'll deal with it then." A part of him felt that Ren may have some suspicions if he didn't outright know in the first place, but if his guess about Nora and Pyrrha was correct neither of the girls would be aware. Nora, because Ren wouldn't care to tell her if he did know and she wouldn't seek that information on her own. And Pyrrha wouldn't know as she was foreign to Vale in the first place, but was also an upstanding young woman who lived a life much like a celebrity. "No worries on them making trouble, either; as long as Ren and I are around to reign in Nora's peculiar brand of enthusiasm, we're good."

Otherwise she may end up trying to ride the DJ Bear like that Ursa Major during initiation.

He left that unsaid for good reason before picking up. "But you're talking about the club; do you guys want to meet them? If not I can hold off. They'll understand." And if they didn't then he would just agree to disagree. He wasn't going to put the twins into an uncomfortable spot if he had a choice in the matter.

A pair of hands waived his concerns away, again in almost disturbing synchronization. "It's no big deal. Just don't let them bother us too much when we're actually working." Melanie muttered, before her previously neutral expression shifted to a curious tilt of her lips. "... Snowflake, your body is really cold. That's normal for you?" She asked, drawing the subject entirely off course suddenly.

"Yep." He replied easily, turning to regard Miltiades for a moment. "You're fine with them showing up too, Miltia?"

She smiled back at him. "Yeah, I don't mind." She could use more acquaintances in the first place seeing as how Junior, Melanie, and Jaune were the only people she spoke to regularly.

A light jab of a finger to his head drew Jaune back to Melanie, who was quirking a brow at him. "... yes?" He asked.

"Seriously, Snowball, that whole body temp thing is weird." She emphasized this by lightly rubbing her hand lightly along his jawline, which drew a slight twitch from the teen.

Reaching out to grab her hand in his own, regarding her with a dull look, the teen replied. "And you're going where with this? I'm already pretty aware of the weird crap my Semblance did to me, Melanie." He wasn't offended or anything, it was legitimately odd and he could admit to that in a heartbeat.

His skin wasn't the clammy kind of cold that you'd associate with a corpse or anything. He just... felt cold. It was hard to really put into words exactly, but his skin was cool to the touch. His blood flow wasn't inhibited by the cold, none of his body functions were. It didn't really make any sort of scientific sense, or maybe he just didn't know how to explain it, but it was just something he'd gotten used to.

Frankly, Jaune blamed it on his Semblance and just left it at that; much easier than trying to explain it.

Melanie's sly smile turned somewhat wicked. "Just thinking it'd be a bit hard to adjust to at night, but I could probably deal with that..."

Jaune found his face heating up quickly as that statement sunk in, letting go of the hand he'd grabbed in his surprise. "I, er, w-wait what?" He stammered, eyes wide.

This only seemed to spur her on further, the white-clad twin leaning in. "Oh, don't be so surprised... every girl loves to be swept off her feet by a knight in shining armor you know." She commented, alluding to the night he'd stepped in to keep Yang from injuring her.

"Melanie!" Miltiades hissed, turning to glare at her sister with a small blush and a frown. "Who just comes out and says something like that?" That was just a little bit much if you asked her.

The green eyes of the more outgoing twin seemed to glimmer as her grin widened further. "Oh, sorry Miltia... I shouldn't be so casual about having Snowball in bed with me since you sleep there too."

This time both of the other two had wide blushes on their faces. Jaune's head snapped to Miltia just as she did the same, leaving both wide eyed and red-faced as they regarded one another.

After a few moments, they slowly turned to look forward, unable to hold one another's gaze.

Melanie had removed herself from Jaune and was now watching the two with a small grin.

"... So..." Jaune started off, coughing a bit. "... You two... uh...?" A large part of him felt that this was something he should just drop, but there was just no way he could let that question go unasked after Melanie had brought it up. The curiosity would absolutely kill him.

Cheeks as red as her dress, Miltia mumbled out a soft answer to the question before Melanie could make the situation more humiliating for her. "... Yeah, we do. It's... a habit we got into when we were little, and we never grew out of it." They hadn't always had a cushy position as Junior's enforcers. There had been some nights when they were younger that the twins had huddled for warmth and the comfort of the other's presence.

And after they'd reached the point they were at now, where they did have separate rooms and their own soft, warm beds to sleep in... well, old habits died hard, and Miltia could admit to herself that she slept better with her sister than without.

To _herself_ _._ Not other people!

She hadn't expected Melanie to mention that, nor was she particularly pleased that such a thing was out in the open between them now. It was embarrassing.

"Well... my sisters sometimes snuck into my bed." Jaune admitted after a few moments of awkward silence, a small, wistful smile coming to his lips. "Frequently, in fact." Between the seven of them, he would normally find at least one of his sisters having crept into his bed by morning. Especially after the whole lake incident, which had given each and every member of his family a good scare. "So I guess I can't really say anything, since I never really minded it."

He loved his family, and his sisters especially. So while waking up at the bottom of a pile of Arcs was somewhat startling and a little uncomfortable at times, Jaune had never really minded because they were his sisters.

Oh, he'd griped about it a few times for sure, but never with any real intent. He'd certainly never asked them to leave him be.

Melanie, off to her side, was snickering at the sight of her sister trying to hide her relief at Jaune waving the whole thing off. This drew a glare from said sister, and a quirked brow from the boy in question. "Oh, sorry, sorry... I just... didn't realize that would be _funnier_ than I thought it would be." She descended back into giggles.

Miltia growled a bit. "Melanie, don't just go _saying_ things like that! What if someone other than Jaune had heard?" God, if one of the random mooks heard of that it'd be all around the rumor mill one way and back.

"... So it's fine that Snowflake knows?" Melanie asked with a wide grin, savoring the flush that came to her sister's face at that.

"Melanie, you're gonna break her." Jaune cut in, rolling his eyes. "You take this stuff really far sometimes, you know?" Really, she was downright lewd at times.

She shrugged. "She'll be fine; I do th-"

"You do it a lot." Jaune cut in. "Believe me, I know." It really was a sibling thing, wasn't it?

Melanie stuck her tongue out at him in response. "It's rude to cut a girl off, Frosty." She teased.

"Like you actually care." He shot back, waving a hand. As he did that, his eyes cut to the clock nearby and widened a bit. "Oh, man, I lost track of time... I gotta get back soon." Jaune winced at the disappointed looks he earned with that, quickly raising his hands in a placating gesture. "I'll come back soon, you two. Probably with some friends in tow."

"Darn. It's boring around here without you Snowflake." Melanie admitted, earning a small nod from her sister. "Miltia _especially_ misses you, you know..." She teased.

"..." The red-clad girl was torn between denying it, something she didn't really want to do as it may seem like she was saying she didn't want Jaune around, or accepting the accusation, which was embarrassing for her. In the end, she settled for a small nod, not quite able to look at the white haired teen. "... She's not wrong."

Slipping down from his stool, Jaune just scratched his cheek sheepishly, not entirely sure how to react to that. "I'll miss you guys too. But don't worry, I'm not gonna forget about you two." As if he could. Melanie's little revelation was going to be stuck in his head for a long while...

Because as much as his head told him that the two sleeping together was just a familial habit and perfectly normal, the suggestive way Melanie had said it alluded to more and his other head wasn't quite sure that things were so innocent.

Shaking his head to remove such thoughts, the teen just offered the two a wave before turning to leave.

He caught Melanie blowing him a kiss from the corner of his eye as he left.

Women, man... they really did a number on his sanity.

* * *

"... Really now." Jaune mumbled incredulously, staring down four people he hadn't expected to see for a while. "You know I sort of get the feeling you guys didn't come here for the atmosphere." The white haired teen mumbled, glancing around idly.

The moment he'd left The Club, he'd noticed the four members of Team CRDL loitering about in various places outside.

Upon him stepping outside, they converged on one another and none-too-subtly cut him off as he began to walk away. The four teens, clearly armed with their weapons and garbed in their combat outfits, glared him down as others in the area began to back away.

Eyeing them warily, Jaune decided to begin by asking just what they wanted, despite the fact that he had a pretty good idea. "So. You all need something from me?"

"Arc, you think you could just humiliate me like that and get away with it?" Cardin asked threateningly, lightly smacking the head of his mace against his hand in a menacing fashion. "Not happening, you freak. Russel heard you talkin' to your pals about this place and we figured, "hey, let's go show ol' Jauney-boy just who's in charge." So, here we are." Grinning wide, the teen nodded to his team to spread out.

"Look, Cardin... I don't really think you understand what you're getting into." Jaune spoke up, glaring the brunette down even as the other three slowly shifted to form something of a half-moon around him.

"Oh, no." Cardin announced with mock cheer. "I know what I'm going to do. Me and my boys here are going to wipe that smug look off of your face and make you cry for your mommy, then we're going to go back to school like nothing happened. And by the time we're done, you'll agree with us."

Jaune deadpanned at him. "... you seriously think you're going to beat me up without any consequence?" Did he not realize this was easily going to get back to one or more of the teachers if they succeeded?

"Yep."

"... wow, you're dumb." Jaune couldn't help but reply to that, shaking his head at the absurdity. "Like... really dumb." Did they not get the idea from him positively ruining Cardin earlier that same day?

Granted, he couldn't really do too much in the way of destructive force because there was a nightclub right behind him who's owner would not take kindly to it, but whatever. He could probably beat them with just his stick and minor uses of his Semblance.

... Probably.

With that thought, Jaune decided to just throw the first punch so to speak. Throwing his hand out, a ball of ice formed immediately and launched from his open palm at Dove.

The teen swung his sword in an attempt to deflect the ice ball, only for it to shatter upon striking the blade of the sword and bombard the teen with smaller shards of ice. "Ack!" He yelped, stumbling from the attack and glaring at the perpetrator.

Jaune merely smiled in response, hands held out and a chilly breeze tousling his hair. He looked more amused by the whole thing than concerned.

Russel, readying his twin daggers, darted in quickly to launch a slash at the teen.

With a flick of his wrist, Jaune froze over the ground in front of him for about ten feet.

Seeing that, the mowhawked teen dodged to the left and continued on, avoiding the slick terrain entirely.

As his daggers closed in, Jaune quickly raised up his staff to deflect the attack. He frowned, though, as Sky made himself known by thrusting his halberd at his back.

These guys were really not playing around, were they? Aura made it so that they weren't as threatening, yeah, but still! These were live weapons for crying out loud.

Avoiding the halberd thrust by leaping into the air, Jaune shifted midair and launched more blunted spheres of ice down at the two before righting himself again and preparing to land.

The ice projectiles were dodged easily, and Sky quickly took aim with his halberd... which Jaune belatedly recognized as containing a gun.

A loud bang signified the shot firing at his chest level, but Jaune had been quick enough to block with a hastily made shield of ice. Rather than being impacted harshly on his chestplate, he merely found himself flung backwards some. Landing easily, Jaune glanced up in time to see the leader of team CRDL making his move.

"Raaaagh!" Cardin shouted, slamming his mace onto the ground before him.

Explosions rang out, launching in a line towards a surprised Jaune Arc. Unable to really react in time, he found himself flung away via the explosives, landing in a tumble.

Eventually, his momentum died out and the teen looked dryly up into the night sky as if to ask just why these things happened to him.

... the night sky sure did look more... pink than he remembered it. Blinking, Jaune quickly recognized that what he was looking at was not the sky, but rather a pair of pink, striped panties, and long, creamy legs that led up into them.

"Gah!" He yelped, quickly shooting up into a sitting position and turning to regard the girl who was probably going to cheer team CRDL on after he'd gotten an eyeful.

But instead of some random girl, Jaune was greeted with the rather stern and irritated faces of Melanie and Miltiades.

"Er, s-sorry about that Miltia..." He chuckled nervously as her eyes roamed over him. "I didn't mean to!"

She offered a tiny smile, waving it off. "Melanie..." She began ominously, eyes roaming the gathered teens who had just attacked their good friend in front of their workplace. "Who are these guys?"

A wide grin slipping onto her lips, Melanie cracked her knuckles. "I dunno, Miltia... but let's teach'em a lesson."

With that, the two girls offered their hands to the downed Arc teen, who allowed himself to be pulled up.

Now staring down two angry women who were clearly armed in addition to the miffed Jaune Arc, team CRDL looked somewhat nervous.

... It only got worse when Junior waltzed out with his club hefted over one shoulder to stand behind them, a snarl tugging at his lips. "Fucking hell, what is with you Hunter brats and tearing up my property!?" The big man shouted, waving at the rather banged up looking area outside of his club.

"... this is why I told you guys you had no idea what you were getting into." Jaune chuckled as team CRDL looked on at the newly changed odds. "But, whatever... you guys just wanna leave? This isn't a fight you can win." Between himself, the twins, and Junior... well, team CRDL only really had their numbers going for them in a fight against Jaune himself.

Melanie and Miltiades could probably take on any of Cardin's team apiece, and the two of them together could beat Cardin. He himself could beat Cardin down and he could probably take on all three of his cronies. Junior... well, Jaune hadn't seen him fight and didn't know what all he could do, but he figured the big man could at least put down the weaker members of team CRDL one to one.

As of now the odds were firmly in their favor.

"Fuck off, Arc!" Cardin snarled, waving his team back into motion. "Your little girlfriends and the old man aren't gonna save you here."

A small, satisfied sigh slipped from Jaune's lips as the other three around him settled into their fighting stances.

"... You know, Cardin." A large grin came to the Arc's lips as he spoke, generating several floating chunks of ice above his head with a raised hand.

"I really did hope you would say that."

* * *

AN: Cutting off there. We're at a good enough spot, methinks, as chapter length is getting above the norm. So, Jaune fucks with Cardin. Cardin takes offense and tries to retaliate, but chooses a bad spot to do so.

Now, we get to one of my dilemmas when writing this up; would Cardin really go out of his way to initiate an attack on a fellow student with intent to actually harm?

I've decided, based upon his behavior, yes. During his spar with Jaune in canon, he's seen being told to hold off on his final attack while Jaune had low Aura, and it's sort of implied he did that a lot. He instigates mean, hurtful pranks, but none of them really did too much actual damage. The rocket locker incident would be the most dangerous of them I'd wager, as Jaune apparently "landed not too far from the school" which implies he _may_ have been in danger of attack by Grimm. That's speculation on my part, though.

Anyhoo. The last bit would be the whole incident with rapier wasps. I'm going out on a limb and assuming those would be very painful stings, and dumping an entire swarm on someone would be outright cruel.

So I'm justifying Cardin's outright attack with the fact that Jaune didn't just upstage his crew during class like Pyrrha did. He straight up threatened to cripple him, and humiliated him in front of an entire lunchroom full of people.

Could Jaune actually have given Cardin frostbite severe enough to cripple? Probably. Aura seems to help healing, and I'll make the assumption that it also helps against environmental hazards such as cold on the skin, but once you get past Aura and into the body it's fair game.

It's not likely to occur in a real fight, though. During this incident, he caught Cardin off guard, he had a good amount of time to get his power charged up, and he had Cardin's arm in his hand for long enough while they were talking to get a good flow going on. If Cardin had struggled immediately then it would be different, but he didn't.

EDIT: It's been pointed out that I had a misconception of Yang's Semblance; I've gone back and made light edits to reflect this as it wasn't really too much different. Basically I'd thought more along the lines of her being physically boosted in strength, but really Yang seems to redirect kinetic force or some bullshit... so no moving faster, and it doesn't just activate at will... except in the show it does sometimes... but whatever. For the sake of this, I'm going to just make some edits and move on.


	9. Chapter 9

Well. It's been a bit since I last updated this I suppose. I'm rather sporadic on updates, though, so please do forgive me for that.

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

* * *

"... Ow." Jaune grunted out, seated at the bar of Junior's club yet again.

This time, he was shirtless and nursing a rather large bruise across his chest from the fight with team CRDL.

Because of course _Dove_ of all people, the person he had chosen to engage out of the four enemies, would be the one who was actually hiding how strong he was.

So he'd gone into that fight thinking along the lines of 'alright, beat Dove down and then move on to help the twins or Junior depending on who's better off.', only for Dove Bronzewing to decide tonight was a good night to stop playing around and bust out moves Jaune hadn't even remotely expected to see from team CRDL.

He'd still won. It hadn't even been a _super_ close fight, he'd had an advantage the very moment he started taking the other guy as seriously as he would Yang or Neo... but it'd left him with a rather large bruise surrounding a shallow cut that reached across his entire torso.

After a bit of trading back and forth, he'd lunged at Dove to just trap him with ice and be done with it.

The response had been one of the most artful dodges he had ever seen followed by a positively vicious slash to his chest, perfectly aimed just below the protection of his armor, which had sent him flying.

It hadn't taken him out of the fight, but it'd been smarting ever since he got back up. It'd also ripped his hoodie something fierce, so he'd need to sew that back together soon.

Jaune didn't have to ask what was more wounded out of his body and pride; it was _definitely_ his body.

And Miltia, gentle as she was, was still causing a fair bit of pain to him by wrapping the shallow cut which had come from the wound.

It'd been enough to nick him through his Aura's protection. Not very deep, but enough to warrant a bandage he supposed, especially considering it spanned across most of his torso.

That or the twins wanted to see him shirtless. One of the two.

At his pained grunt, the girl paused and looked up at him in concern. He smiled, waving it off, and she continued with her work.

The twins had gone up against Sky and Russel, and from what he could glean it'd been an absolute slaughter.

Russel and Sky weren't bad. They weren't amazing, but neither of them were bad in a fight. They wouldn't have made it to Beacon otherwise.

One to one, things may have been a bit more even. But in a two on two fight, the twins had a massive advantage.

They'd been fighting together since they learned _how_ to fight, whereas Sky and Russel had only just met and been teamed together since Beacon's initiation. The two of them just weren't as coordinated together as Miltiades and Melanie were, and it had shown in a swift and decisive fight with the two boys being utterly demolished and knocked out.

And the twins had hardly even been scratched during the little scrap, because both of them were fretting over him rather than concerning themselves with one another or themselves.

Well, Miltia was fretting over his wound he supposed. Melanie was just leaning over his shoulder, arms wrapped around his neck in that same confidently intimate way she'd begun treating him since the night he'd fought Yang. She'd taken up a seat on the counter after he'd slumped into the stool, before shifting after a few moments to practically attach herself to him again.

Between Nora, Neo, Yang, and Melanie, it was no surprise that Jaune had just given up on the idea of personal space.

Off to the side, Junior snorted loudly in amusement as he regarded the scene, a glass of some sort of alcoholic beverage in front of him which was swiftly being drained of it's contents.

"This fucking kid, I swear." He muttered, taking another gulp of his drink. "Luck of the devil."

The twins both heard, heads turning towards the big man with curiously quirked brows, as if asking the man to elaborate.

Junior wisely chose to refrain from stating his opinion on the matter, shaking his head and tossing back the rest of the drink.

A short laugh came from Jaune, though a wince later he decided to hold in his amusement as it aggravated the bruises he'd gotten from the fight. Yang's punch did leave a decent one, but it was nothing compared to the one Dove managed on him.

He'd at least moved out of the full force of Yang's punch, he'd been dodging after all... but Dove's swing caught him completely off guard, full force of his own momentum plus Dove's swing.

It'd take a little to heal, even with Aura.

Junior wasn't too bad off either to be honest. His glasses had been knocked off and broken from a near miss, but physically he looked uninjured.

The fight between him and Cardin had been rather simple; a contest of sheer brute strength. Their weapons were similar, their builds were similar, and their combat style was similar.

In the end, Junior had been able to overwhelm Cardin through brute strength. The man was older and physically stronger than Cardin and his experience made it clear he knew how to press that advantage. Outside of that one near miss, Cardin hadn't landed much of a hit at all and had been pressured.

It wasn't a clear win until the twins showed up, though. After dealing with Russel and Sky, they'd gone over to Junior's neck of the woods and tore down Cardin immediately.

By the time he'd knocked Dove out of the game, they had already cleaned up everyone else.

Jaune's idle thoughts were interrupted as Miltiades stood, having finished with the bandages, and settled herself in to his right. "Does it feel better at all, or no?"

"Stings some." Due to her disinfecting the little cut. "Otherwise, it's just a dull ache that'll be gone by tomorrow I bet." Or mostly gone at least. Aura was awesome like that. If he didn't have it, he would be dead by now.

She frowned, but nodded. "I wouldn't have pegged the blonde guy as the big threat." Miltiades mumbled, surprised at just how banged up Jaune had gotten from that fight. He hadn't even been all that badly injured after the whole incident with the blonde that wrecked their club, that Yang girl.

"Yeah." Jaune replied idly. "Neither did I. That's how this-" He gestured towards his injured torso. "Ended up happening. I've learned my lesson. From now on, I go into every fight expecting the other guy to be stronger, faster, and smarter than me." Because whenever he thought he had someone, such as the incident with Yang or Neo, it turned out he was dead wrong and they instead ended up nailing him. And now that he'd thought someone would be decently easy to put down, they land one of the most solid hits on him anyone had ever landed.

Dove had hurt him more with one swing than Yang had managed over the course of two different fights. Likely due to the fact that Yang's blunt force weapons weren't quite as likely to _slice_ into his Aura.

If the force is dispersed over a larger area, such as a fist, rather than the edge of a sword, it's probably not going to do more than a light bruise, drop Aura levels, all that.

A sword or other focused attack like that could penetrate Aura and damage the body it's protecting in addition to the Aura drop associated with eating a blow like that.

Thankfully, it hadn't been able to go too deeply. Jaune figured that Dove had known that too when he'd made that swing, he'd probably been hoping to knock him out from the impact or hinder him for the rest of the fight. CRDL were bullies, not killers.

"So what was that even about anyway, Snowball?" Miltia asked from behind him, leaning forward to rest her chin on his scalp. "Those guys didn't seem very pleased with you."

Jaune chuckled sheepishly, flushing a bit. "Well, the big one, Cardin, he's pretty much a bully at Beacon." It sounded so silly to say, honestly, that something this violent had come from that... but whatever. "He was picking on this Faunus girl, tugging on her ears, and I went over and made him back off."

The knowing smile on Miltia's lips gave him pause for a moment. "You really do that knight in shining armor thing justice, don't you Jaune?"

"I may get jealous if some other girl is getting that same attention, you know..." Melanie giggled playfully.

A slight blush came to his cheeks. "I don't like that kind of thing, I guess. Picking on someone because they're different than you seems wrong." Again, he couldn't help but get back to the fact that they lived in a world where there was a single force which would wipe out humans and Faunus without discrimination. And in the face of that, rather than unify as a single front to face them, they were busy squabbling with one another over things as petty as race.

Especially as Hunters in training. The Faunus you bullied was there to learn how to fight Grimm and protect innocent people just like you were. Someone you may need to trust your life to later on. Why would you harass them over something so small as a pair of freaking animal ears or a tail?

Hell, Jaune had legitimately thought before that it would be cool to be a Faunus. Improved senses, night vision, and in some cases an extra limb? Awesome!

But this was not a very popular view for some reason. He didn't understand it, really; being a Faunus was like being Human-Plus. It was pretty much a direct upgrade with a few potential downsides that could crop up, but nothing major outside of the blatant mistreatment they faced from humans.

He understood why there was tension; a war had been fought, after all. That was hardly something people could forget so quickly.

But no one was going to put it behind them if people kept on using it to justify the mistreatment of Faunus. It was just going to spiral out of control until something set off the powder keg again.

Jaune sighed. "Yeah, I just wish people would get along." He muttered, coming off that train of thought after a bit, knowing it wouldn't do much good.

Miltiades shrugged. "It's just how people are, Jaune." She admitted. "No one likes to admit they're in the wrong."

"It's just how the world works, Snowflake." Melanie agreed. "People use others. For their own gain or just to vent their frustrations. Faunus are an easy target for it because so few people stick up for them."

A light growl slipped from Jaune, as that sentiment reminded him of something. "And that's why the White Fang is what it is today." No one would stand up for Faunus except other Faunus. Peaceful methods never solved any issues, the White Fang had always been a motion that never saw enough support to really change things.

And so, they just gave up. And Jaune really couldn't even blame them. The _right_ way of doing things didn't work, so why keep doing it?

He didn't think their current ideals were right. They were violent terrorists more than anything else, and they were hurting a lot of innocent people. He didn't support it at all.

But Jaune understood. They hadn't gone down that path willingly; not entirely, at least. If things had been solved from their protests and rallies, then the White Fang wouldn't have become what it was today. Why fight when you could fix the issue without violence, after all? At least they had tried that method first rather than resorting to violence in the first place.

Jaune Arc didn't hate the White Fang. He felt sorry for them. Sorry that they felt their only choice was to bare their fangs at the world to make it a better place for their people.

That shouldn't have been necessary. They shouldn't have _had_ to fight for the rights other people were given just by merit of their birth. It made him angry just thinking about it, because the Faunus in the White Fang could have just as easily became policemen, rescue workers, or even Hunters in some cases.

But because of the mistreatment of their own kind, they decided to stand against that as their main goal rather than prioritizing the protection of the kingdoms everyone lived in from the Grimm and other threats.

There were bad eggs in the White Fang, he was sure. But how many Fang members joined to cause chaos, and how many found themselves practically forced into it by the rest of the world? It couldn't have been an insignificant number.

At mention of the Fang, the twins both sighed simultaneously. Miltiades was the first to speak. "It's awful that a peaceful group turned into something as ugly as what they are now, but..."

As she cut off, Melanie picked up the statement as though she knew exactly what was going to be said. "There's nothing that you can really do about it, Snowflake. None of us can do anything, really."

"After all, we're humans. I'd doubt the White Fang would even want our help at this point even if we _could_ do something, and pity would just make them angrier." Miltiades finished, leaning back against the countertop. "All there really is to do is wait and hope things get better."

The Malachite twins knew full well that they weren't the kind of people who could drive that sort of change in the world. They had decided to take an easier, safer path rather than risking their lives for people they'd never met, and so the path of a hunter just wasn't in the cards for them, which closed one route to change the way things worked even a little.

They weren't from some influential family, looking towards a future in the political fields. There were no ritzy high-class friends or colleagues they had to help sway things.

They didn't have some big discovery or other claim to fame to present to throw them into the limelight and allow them to gain influence to make the world how they thought it should be.

Melanie and Miltiades had accepted that their only real sphere of influence was in the world of crime, and even then it was really only as seconds to Junior.

They didn't have any power that they couldn't enforce with their own hands and feet. And that was fine by them.

"I get what you two are saying, but..." Jaune trailed off, clenching his fist. "It leaves a sour taste in my mouth."

The twins shrugged in response. "Nothing I can really tell you that'll make you feel better on that one, Snowflake. Life is harsh sometimes."

"Yeah. You're right." He sighed, leaning back some to get more comfortable.

Melanie chuckled at that, shifting to allow him to actually relax more seeing as how she had seated herself on the counter directly behind him. "Getting sleepy Snowball?"

Jaune stifled a yawn. "Yeah. It's been a long day."

To his right, Miltiades hummed. "Well, you've definitely missed the last Bullhead back by now..." She pointed out, nodding towards the clock.

That drew a grin from the white-clad twin. "Looks like you'll get to room with us tonight Snowflake. Try to behave yourself!" After saying that, she leaned forward some more, pointedly pressing her body against him. "Or don't... I don't mind." She giggled, blowing lightly on his ear.

The Arc teen stiffened for a moment, before promptly hopping down from the stool much to Melanie's disappointment. "I-I'm sure I can find a hotel for the night. You guys d-don't need to worry about me." He gave the thought some consideration though. Really he did.

But a lot of his indecision came from worries on how a relationship would even work. He would be away at Beacon more often than not while Melanie was in Vale. And while he could slip out to see her every weekend in the city, it could be problematic. If she even wanted a relationship in the first place, that is, and wasn't just teasing him for fun.

And then there was Miltiades. She seemed to like him too and Jaune didn't really know how to deal with two girls who seemed interested in him. Picking one over the other wasn't exactly easy considering he genuinely liked them both and saw them both at the same time more often than not.

Even worse was the thought of what picking Melanie over Miltiades or vice versa would mean for the other. He didn't really want to hurt either of them like that.

... so he was kind of just avoiding the issue as best he could.

Was it a solution? Not really. But Jaune didn't have a solution, so this would have to do. He never was good with handling women, hence why he'd taken to following his father's advice on such matters. Which was usually a horrible idea, as his time out in the world had taught him.

"No." A hand on his shoulder and a surprisingly firm tone of voice from Miltia made him pause. "You're already here. You can sleep in my room and I'll bunk with Melanie for the night."

Jaune hesitated for a moment. "Uh... are you sure about that? Wouldn't it be, I don't know, kind of weird?" It did negate the rather lewd suggestion Melanie had made, though.

From behind him, Melanie rolled her eyes. "Not really. Her room goes mostly unused anyway; we _really_ do sleep together a lot, Snowball." They had their own rooms, but it never really felt like it since they ended up sharing one anyway.

Most of the time they were working or hanging around on the floor level. The only time they really even spent in the upper rooms was when they were sleeping. And most of the time, the twins slept in the same room.

So the room which had originally been Miltia's had sort of fallen out of use a lot of the time. It was hardly decorated, and most of her clothes and whatnot were kept in Melanie's room anyway because of how often they both ended up there.

For all intents and purposes, the Malachite twins shared a room. It was very rare for Miltia to even use her own bed.

"Oh... okay." Jaune answered slowly, glancing at the hand still on his shoulder. "Yeah. I can stay here, then." He continued, turning around. "If you guys don't mind, I'd appreciate it."

A matching pair of grins greeted him at that. "Great!" The twins chimed simultaneously, eyes practically sparkling.

Jaune chuckled after a moment, a smile of his own coming to his lips.

He was just overreacting about all of that stuff earlier. They were just being helpful. Melanie was probably just messing with him like she usually did, and Miltia was just being the nice girl he knew her to be under that snooty exterior she put on.

Really, he felt silly for getting so worked up over something so simple.

* * *

Jaune now felt _much_ less silly for being so worked up the previous night.

He had gone up to the room Miltiades had directed him to, carrying his torn hoodie with him. It was a plain room with simple, cream colored walls and a single window covered by a red curtain. The bed was decently sized, and looked pristine; the two of them probably hadn't been lying about it's lack of use considering that. It looked like no one had used this room for much of anything outside just throwing a curtain over the window.

There was a little end table beside the bed with a plain looking lamp, the shade of which matched the creamy color of the walls and bed sheets. A single alarm clock sat beside it, but from what he could tell it hadn't ever even been set properly because it was currently reading as two in the afternoon. It was like someone had tinkered with it before throwing it aside without a care.

Seeing that, Jaune had taken a minute to match it up to his scroll. It just sort of bothered him that it was wrong.

After that, he'd taken a minute to sit on the bed and regard the torn hoodie and undershirt.

The shirt was disposable really. It was just a t-shirt, after all.

But the hoodie was a bit more sentimental, a gift from his family. He'd looked it over some, determined how best to fix it up, and then nodded before folding it up neatly and placing it on the end-table.

After that, he'd hit the lights, slipped the covers back, and crawled into the bed. The cool cloth and soft mattress was a welcome relief for his bruised body, which still ached despite the rapid healing of Aura.

He'd fallen asleep quickly, it was late at night in the first place and he really did have a rather long day so that was understandable, and he slept like a log.

But then he'd woken up blearily in the early hours of the morning, a quick glance at the clock showing it to be around four.

It didn't take long for Jaune to realize just why he'd woken up, though, because the warm bodies on either side of him were hardly difficult to notice, especially considering just how little warmth he was used to.

And neither were the soft, slender arms that had found a place on his chest, or the fact that his own hands had seemingly gained a will of their own and were resting on either girl's hip as they nuzzled into him.

He clamped down on the immediate startled reaction that came to his throat, deciding that waking the two of them would be a bad idea. The secondary reaction of hyperventilating was also quashed for similar reasons.

So he just lay there, attempting to remain calm despite the fact that two very attractive girls had apparently decided to slip into bed with him in the night.

It wasn't quite like Neo, when she had done similar things. Usually he knew she was there when he went to sleep, and a lot of the time he was just dead-tired in the first place so it never really mattered. And then waking up had, at first, been terrifying because she was a tiny murdering psychopath in bed with him... but he'd gotten over that perhaps a bit more quickly than he was really even comfortable with.

Oh man, if she heard about this incident Jaune was sure that Neo was going to be on the floor in laughter. Before proceeding to tease him relentlessly about it.

... he'd rather that didn't happen. She had enough ammunition to throw at him, thanks. Why he'd let her in on his motion sickness, Jaune would never know...

After a few moments of awkwardly lying with two lovely young women clinging to him, Jaune realized that at least one of them was wearing a nightdress of some sort and that somehow in his sleep the hand nearest to her had not only managed to reach her hip, but was _under_ the garment and touching bare skin.

A large part of him really hoped that his hands were just up too high to be touching the fabric of her underwear, because the alternative was... well, really hot.

Which, as much as he really didn't like to admit it, was a bad thing in this case due to his various reservations.

So much for avoiding the issue.

Movement to his right briefly startled Jaune, as one of the girls shifted. Whichever one of the twins she was, Jaune now knew that she was not, in fact, wearing anything under that nightdress as the motion had brushed his hand over even more bare flesh as she moved. Taking that opportunity, Jaune removed his hand from her person in general and held back a sigh of relief.

Well that was one less awkward thing to deal with he supposed.

"You can put it back, you know." A breathy whisper in his ear nearly gave Jaune a heart attack. "Your hand, I mean."

But he recognized the voice.

And damn it all, it _wasn't_ Melanie!

To his right, apparently unclothed outside of the nightdress, was Miltiades. And she was not only awake and well aware of where his hand _had_ been, but she was telling him to go ahead and put it _back_!

"We _really_ shouldn't be doing this..." He mumbled back, pointedly refraining from moving the offending limb back where it was previously. "Seriously, I-" A finger placed over his lips silenced Jaune with a start, especially considering he could feel both of Miltia's hands.

Meaning that her sister was also awake. "Don't worry so much about it, Snowflake." She purred, pressing closer to him and delighting from the choked reaction it drew. "Just enjoy it for now... talking can wait until the morning."

"It is morning." He shot back, almost petulantly.

He could practically feel the eyerolls from the pair of sisters. "Snowflake, really... just live a little. We're not talking about marriage or something like that." Melanie giggled, the hand which had previously been at his lips traveling teasingly down his bare chest, eventually coming to rest over his heart. "Just a bit of _fun._ "

Jaune was really trying to restrain himself.

Hell, he didn't even really know _why_ he was restraining himself! There were two pretty girls in bed with him with less than full sets of clothing, both of whom had gotten there of their own free will. It was pretty clear by this point that they were okay with this.

If anything, his most realistic concern would be that this would somehow make things awkward between them.

But... well. This didn't feel awkward anymore, now that the both of them were awake and openly encouraging him. Altogether, it was really pleasant in a lot of ways, and not just the typical sort of pleasant a teenage male would associate with two scantily clad young women in bed with him.

Ever since he'd fallen in that lake, Jaune had been cold. There were times he honestly forgot what it felt like to be warm, but the heat of another body was always a pleasant reminder. He couldn't say that he didn't miss the warmth, even if the cold didn't bother him.

Miltiades spoke up again. "Jaune, just go ahead and relax." She mumbled, nuzzling herself into his neck. "We're big girls; we know what we want."

"... this is really sudden, you know." The frosty Arc replied dully.

This earned him a pair of giggles from the twins. "Silly Snowflake..." Melanie whispered, brushing her lips against his cheek again. "As good as Miltia is..."

The other girl picked up from where her sister trailed off, her own lips pressing against his neck briefly. "We're still a pair of very _bad_ girls..."

"And bad girls..." The hand over his heart moved to his navel, tracing out tiny circles on his skin.

"... take what they want." The pair of them finished simultaneously.

Jaune couldn't help but comment. "The way you two do that is both ridiculously unnerving and _incredibly_ hot." He admitted, earning himself a pair of amused purrs from the two.

"Just go with the flow, Snowflake." Melanie chuckled. "And feel free to let those hands of yours roam; we don't mind."

Deciding to just let the issue drop and admit his defeat, Jaune sighed. "Fine, fine. You two win." With that said, the teen shifted a bit, moving his hands to rest at either girl's waist, pointedly pressing them closer to him.

"Yeah..." Melanie sighed out as she cuddled into his side.

"... we knew we would." Miltiades finished, taking a moment to move one of her legs over his.

* * *

Waking up later that morning, Jaune Arc couldn't help but agree with Junior's assessment from the previous night; he really did have the devil's own luck.

He'd gone and fallen into a freezing lake, managed to awaken his Aura and Semblance to save himself, wandered for a year almost doing random things to build a little cash, spent all of that cash to have a forge make him fake transcripts to enter Beacon Academy, managed to actually get through the initiation with relative ease, and now had contacts in the criminal underbelly of the world in addition to being an upstanding student of a prestigious academy.

And that was before considering the fact that he'd woken up with two beautiful girls cuddling up to him.

A brief glance showed that the two of them wore sleep clothes fairly similar to their usual style; Miltia's nightdress was red with black feathery patterns dancing across it, whereas Melanie's was white with just a few hints of blue at the bottom of the dress.

Jaune couldn't help the blush that came to his cheeks as he regarded the sleeping twins, and it came accompanying a rather goofy grin.

They looked _cute_ when they were asleep. The twins were always pretty, and they had proven mere hours ago that the two of them were also _very_ sexy.

But seeing their sleeping faces, he really realized that he'd never seen them as cute before. Pretty, yes. Seductive, yep. Beautiful even. But never cute.

Up until now. They really did look innocent and adorable like that, but it hid a wickedness he'd come to know all to well.

'But...' He thought to himself, trailing his right hand over Miltia's side gently. 'I think that's half of the fun, isn't it?'

Turning back from the girl to his right, Jaune decided he would just sit there for a little while and enjoy the comfortable bed and pleasant company.

His team would probably be somewhat concerned with him staying out without letting them know. It would be easy to blow off, to say that he'd forgotten. And it wouldn't be a lie, really, because he had completely forgotten to call anyone.

But the big thing would be the fact that he'd forgotten mainly due to Cardin's bullshit and the events following rather than just getting caught up in the night.

Jaune was going to try and keep that quiet. He didn't really want to see what his partner would do to Cardin if she found out about that incident.

He didn't think anyone would see Cardin again should that happen. Nora scared him sometimes.

She was all sweet and bubbly and generally adorable. Even when threatening to break someone's legs.

Which by the way was like one of her favorite things to say. He genuinely feared for anyone too slow to avoid her hammer because that girl had a one track mind, and the phrase "break a leg" never specified just who's leg was supposed to be broken.

And while Ren and Pyrrha were both much more levelheaded and altogether calm, he couldn't help but wonder if something like that would be just enough to push them into action.

It was irrelevant, though. He wouldn't be informing anyone of this incident unless he had to, because to him it just wasn't that big of a deal.

He did sincerely hope that Cardin had decided to give up though. It had been proven just last night that he could be taken off guard, and now Jaune was absolutely certain he couldn't take on the four of them. Just fighting Dove plus one other would be difficult enough that he may lose.

Because, again, while Dove was much better than he'd been given credit for, Jaune was perfectly confident in his ability to beat the teen alone. It was a matchup that he had a distinct advantage in due to the versatility his Semblance offered.

If they did keep up this shit, he really would need to get teachers involved. And that was one of the last things he wanted to do, as it could draw more attention on him than he really wanted.

Jaune would've been fine just coasting through Beacon mostly unnoticed, because that would be the most likely time someone could catch him in his lies. After Beacon it could just be smooth sailing through the rest of his career as a hunter. But here he was now as the leader of his own team, a team which included a champion fighter in Pyrrha as a matter of fact, and facing something of a rivalry with another of the strongest students in Yang.

On an offhanded note, if he got paired with her and pulled the dodging crap he did again, the Arc teen was fairly certain she wouldn't stop hitting him when Goodwitch called the match...

Back on topic, though. Jaune couldn't help but be a bit uncomfortable with just how much attention he seemed to be drawing to himself. He could only hope it didn't end up with too many eyes on him.

To his left, Melanie stirred. Turning his head to regard the girl, he met her sleepy gaze with his own.

Blinking the sleep from her eyes, the girl's expression became a rather satisfied smile. "I could get used to waking up like this." She noted after a moment. "Did you sleep well, Snowflake?"

He chuckled lightly in response. "Yeah, I did actually." It'd been really pleasant once he'd stopped being nervous about things. A pair of soft, warm bodies next to him was a nice way to ease his slumber.

"Good to hear." Miltia mumbled lightly, apparently also awake. The girl shifted to glance up at him, offering a smile of her own. "Morning, Jaune."

"Good morning to you two as well." He replied, sitting up in bed, much to the chagrin of the two girls who had previously been resting in positions rather attached to the snowy teen. "Sorry, sorry." Jaune chuckled at the pair of glares his movement earned, hands help up in a placating fashion. "I've gotta call my team; they're probably wondering just where the heck I've been." He said he would be back, after all, and he didn't end up returning.

As far as he knew, there wasn't a curfew or anything Beacon students were expected to follow. It was mostly the whole common sense angle of not coming in at like two in the morning and waking the whole dorm up, because that would be interfering with other people's sleep and causing them problems. And that was kind of stretched on weekends as there were no classes.

So it wasn't the fact that he'd been out in Vale all night that was the issue; it was more that he'd not taken the time to call his team, having been a bit too frazzled from the whole incident to bother with it. That and he didn't really have a valid excuse as to why he'd lost track of time.

Having decided on that course of action, the teen quickly rolled out of bed, doing his best not to disturb the twins using it and succeeding for the most part.

Standing shirtless in the middle of Miltia's room, Jaune couldn't help but stretch his arms out above his head, reveling in the satisfying popping noises it brought forth. He'd healed up well enough from the fights of the day before, the bandages weren't necessary anymore he wagered. With that in mind, he moved to take them off.

Even with his back turned, Jaune could tell that the twins were eyeing him due to the approving hums he was receiving for the little show. Snorting, the teen looked back over his shoulder to see the two of them shifting to get more comfortable on the bed; clearly, they weren't quite ready to get up just yet. He figured with their job at the nightclub they would probably sleep a good bit of the day, though, so that did make sense to him. "Enjoying the show?" He couldn't help but ask, a cheeky grin on his lips.

It was returned by a pair of wicked smiles that, combined with the twin's state of dress, sent a bit of a shiver through him. "Of course we are." Melanie spoke up, eyes pointedly dragging downwards. "You've got a cute butt, Snowflake."

Miltia blushed a bit at that, but said nothing to the contrary.

Jaune merely quirked a brow. "Thanks, but I'd say the two of you have nicer." He left it unsaid just how he knew, though everyone in the room was perfectly aware of where his hands had wandered in the night.

"Flattery will get you everywhere, Snowflake." Melanie purred in response.

Miltia, on the other hand, merely blushed more. "I'm glad you enjoyed yourself as much as we did." She eventually mumbled, a tiny, smug smile on her lips.

The Arc teen hadn't been the only one with a pair of roaming hands last night, that much was certain; the twins were quite familiar with most of his body by the end of the night, though admittedly they'd stayed above the waistline... for the most part.

He chuckled in response to that, wandering back to the nightstand he'd left his scroll on. "Time to face the music I suppose; my team will probably be a bit miffed at me."

The girls could only offer a pair of unconcerned shrugs at that. "Snowflake, unless your team has a pair of attractive girls willing to spend the night in bed with you, I can say without a doubt that last night was a better time than you would've had otherwise."

"Despite the whole getting knocked on my ass by some blonde guy I figured I could take easily?" Jaune quipped in response, turning the scroll on and waiting a few moments for it to actually start up.

Miltiades replied. "I'd say so. You certainly did seem to be enjoying yourself last night."

Rolling his eyes, the Arc teen conceded that point. "Yeah, you're right; I guess it was worth it. One of my only complaints with Beacon _was_ that my bed didn't have a pretty girl in it when I woke up." Though they had found Nora in Ren's bed once. He'd not really bothered questioning it seeing as how Nora kind of did whatever she wanted, and Ren slept like a log. His partner had assured him multiple times by now that she and her bestest friend were not, in fact, together-together.

Frankly, Jaune couldn't help but find the whole situation hilarious. He believed her when she said they weren't in a relationship like that, but just about no one else did.

The scroll finished loading up, and the snowy-teen couldn't help but whistle at the sheer number of messages he'd missed. "Fifty three missed messages, and two of them are from Neo." That'd be entertaining. He'd certainly not been neglecting the little ice-cream cone, his scroll conversations with her lasted hours at times, but he hadn't really held a conversation with her the previous night due to the whole incident with Cardin. So she was probably wondering if he'd finally managed to get himself killed.

At the pint-sized assassin's name, the twins perked up a bit. "She's still messing with you?" Melanie asked, a somewhat strained smile on her lips.

"Yeah... and somehow I've gotten used to it." Jaune admitted, shrugging. "The fact that I've become desensitized to her is a bit disconcerting, but hey. We're actually on pretty good terms now."

Miltia blinked at that. "That's a pretty big change in attitude." She recalled just how annoyed he'd been with her a while back, harassing him constantly via his scroll.

"... Well." Jaune paused for a bit, before deciding what he wanted to say. "I guess I was kind of overreacting. Neo's done a lot for me, despite trying to kill me. If not for her, I wouldn't have been able to attend Beacon at all. Especially after Junior let me in on just how much her work usually costs." Which was like ten times what he'd paid her.

The twins glanced between one another, before Melanie spoke up again. "You're a big boy, Snowflake, so we're not gonna tell you who you should or shouldn't hang out with..."

Miltiades picked up where her sister left off. "But Neopolitan is a very dangerous person. We know you get that, and she really did help you out there..."

"But she's invested in you now." Melanie picked up, sitting up in bed and leaning against the headboard, arms crossed below her chest. "And that's either really good, or really bad."

Moving to the edge of the bed, Miltiades threw her legs over and took up a seated position as well. "Just be careful around her please." She mumbled, glancing out the window as though unable to face him. "We don't want you to really get hurt, and she's... well, she's a killer." The two of them were criminals. They'd participated in several illegal events and were known faces in the underbelly of Vale.

But Neopolitan was so much worse. She was one of the boogeymen of Vale, a face and name that anyone in the business knew, right up there with Torchwick and Junior. But of the three, everyone knew full well who the one they least wanted to run into in a dark alley was.

"It's sweet that you guys care about me that much." Jaune replied, not bothered at all by the impromptu warning for his association with Neo. "I know she's dangerous; believe me, I've got first hand experience." He gestured to his own neck, referencing how the short girl had very nearly sliced him open. "But for the moment she hasn't done anything to make me mistrust her; if anything, she's been nothing but pleasant to me after that first night."

He held up a hand to forestall the response he knew would follow. "But I'm not gonna just forget she's killed more people in her life than I've actually held a decent conversation with. She's dangerous, I know that and I'm not gonna forget it, but for the moment she's on my side if nothing else; I'd rather know where I stand with her than be in the dark until she comes to collect a favor I owe her." Better the devil you know than the one you don't, after all.

"Alright." Melanie replied simply. "It's your choice after all. Just wanted to make sure you knew what you were getting into."

Miltia nodded, not having anything more to add.

"Welp. Enough of that topic; let's see just what kind of reaction my team has to me calling them up." He debated for a moment just who's scroll he was going to call.

Jaune had all of their numbers, and all of them had his; the fifty or so messages he'd received had been scattered about the three different scrolls, though Nora made up the majority. He winced a bit at that, genuinely guilty for making her worry. It'd been like a week since they'd been partnered together and he was already causing her problems.

Nora's scroll it was, then. He dialed the number and began humming the same funeral tone that Melanie had teased him with back when he'd been dealing with Neo's harassment via scroll.

That got some giggles from the twins, which made him feel a bit better. It wasn't as if he'd blown off his team on purpose; he'd legitimately been distracted.

But he wasn't going to give his team the truth, because that'd make them worry more, and then they'd probably hunt down CRDL and break multiple sets of legs if Nora had her way.

Nora's face appeared on the scroll after a moment, and the ginger-haired girl's face was practically alight with glee as she picked up. "Jauney! We were super worried about you!"

"Sorry, Nora." Jaune started to explain himself, a sheepish smile on his lips... only to be cut off as the exuberant girl continued to speak.

"We even went out looking for you last night to see if you came back really late, but we just found team CRDL, and they said something about a fight with an "ice freak" and then I ran over and threatened to break their legs if they didn't tell me where you were!"

Oh Dust... of course they'd catch CRDL coming back. "Er... uhm. What did they say, exactly?" He questioned the girl, who was now giving him a rather knowing look.

Nora's eyes were twinkling as she replied, a satisfied smirk on her lips. "They told us that you were hanging out at a night club in Vale, and after Ren threatened to let me actually break their legs they told us how their team tried to jump you." She paused, a fairly dark look overtaking her features briefly. "And then Ren and Pyrrha decided not to stop me."

Jaune shivered a bit as the icy look melted away from the girl's face, replaced by the same bubbly expression he'd grown used to seeing from her. "You didn't hurt them too bad, did you?" He asked, cringing a bit at the thought of team CRDL all in full-body casts.

She sighed. "No..." A pout crossed her lips. "Renny and Pyrrha said you wouldn't want me to hurt them _too_ bad... I guess they were right after all." Nora grumbled under her breath about how Ren was _always_ right.

The Arc teen released a sigh of his own in relief. "I'm glad. We don't need the teachers getting involved, and CRDL will probably keep this whole thing quiet." They were the ones who had tried to beat him down in front of a business in Vale. There was no way that was something Cardin's team would want the teachers to know.

"So where are you anyway Jauney? Cardin wouldn't tell me even when I threatened to hit him with Magnhild, so Renny said he probably didn't know."

Another wince was fought down as Jaune debated whether or not he should feel sorry for Winchester, because pissing off his partner didn't seem like a very safe thing to do. "I stayed with some friends overnight after we got into that fight."

A grin came to the bubbly Valkyrie's lips. " _Girl_ friends, Jauney?" Nora asked, brows waggling in a rather suggestive fashion.

Eyes rolling, the Arc teen replied. "Yes, the same friends I'd told you about before."

"Staying over with girls all night! You naughty boy, Jauney!" Nora giggled, grin widening. "No wonder you didn't remember to call us."

Jaune huffed. "I forgot to call because I was tired, Nora. Not because of anything like that." He paused briefly. "And I didn't do anything inappropriate, thank you very much."

A pair of pale, smooth arms slipped around the Arc's neck and he belatedly realized that having a video-call in the same room as Melanie was a horrible idea, even as Nora's eyes widened at the sight of another face on her screen.

"No, everything you did was _very_ appropriate, Snowflake... Miltia and I had a great time." A scandalized yelp from the other girl in the room put a large grin on Melanie's face as she regarded the girl on the other end of the Scroll. "Name's Melanie; you're our special snowflake's partner at Beacon, then?"

Nora took this in stride. "Yep! Jauney's my partner, and our fearless leader." She announced this with a great deal of pride, something that Jaune couldn't help but flush at.

It felt really good, having someone so happy to announce themselves as a member of _his_ team. Like he was finally getting the acknowledgement he'd been looking for all his life.

If his Aura hadn't been activated after his accident on the lake, Jaune didn't know what he would've done. He would probably still have tried to run off and get fake transcripts to Beacon.

But now that he was at Beacon, he had friends who believed in him the way he'd always wanted his family to. Believed in him as a leader, as a Hunter.

It was like a dream come true, and it brought a warmth to his chest. "Yeah... This is Melanie. Miltiades is her sister, and they're the friends I'd been talking about. This isn't exactly how I expected to introduce them, but hey."

"Nice to meet'cha, and thanks for helping out Jauney in that fight." Nora smiled widely. "If they'd actually hurt him then our team was gonna have to do more than break some legs."

Melanie grinned in response. "Had a good time doing it too. Can't let a bunch of punks mess with our Snowflake." She released her grip on him and backed away with a wave, out of the camera's view.

Jaune sighed. "Right. So, sorry for worrying you guys. I was just kind of caught up in everything and forgot to really call anyone."

Nora shrugged in response. "That's alright. Just try not to do it again, though; I can't be misplacing my partner all the time, you know."

That drew a chuckle from Jaune. "I'll try. Could you tell the others that I'm fine?"

"They're both right here actually." Nora turned her scroll to show the other pair of their team, Ren and Pyrrha, idling about their room. Pyrrha smiled lightly and waved at him, whereas Ren merely offered a nod.

... wow those two were quiet. "Oh. Hey guys. I'll be back sometime later today." He felt a little sheepish at having only just noticed them, but they were off screen for the entire conversation and had literally not said a word during, probably letting Nora just take over.

Ren liked to just let her do whatever, and Pyrrha, bless her heart, was just going with the flow.

Champion fighter, undefeated in sparring class, world famous Pyrrha Nikos... was easily the most passive person he'd come across in his life. It was like she just preferred to watch others make their decisions and go along with it, as though she was unused to leading her own life. Jaune figured with her upbringing as a prodigy and celebrity, most of her life really _had_ been planned out by other people.

She was kind of a doormat honestly, as bad as he felt for even thinking it. '... Pyrrha's too nice for me to just let her keep on like that. I've got four years to see if I can't do anything for her in that regard.' He thought to himself as the camera returned to Nora's face.

"Okey dokey, Jauney. We'll see you in a bit; try not to get into any fights without us!"

He couldn't help but laugh at that one. "I'm not very good at that, you know; first Yang and now this, it's like I'm a magnet for trouble."

Nora paused. "... call us before the next fight, then! You know I'm totally up for breaking some legs!"

Shaking his head, Jaune replied. "Right. I'll let you know next time I'm about to get jumped or someone starts tearing up my favorite hangout. Anything else?"

"Nope! Just remember to use protection!" And with that, she hung up the call.

Staring at the scroll blankly, Jaune couldn't help the small blush on his face after that. "... she'd better not be spreading rumors..." He mumbled, turning a glare onto the snickering pair of twins, one of whom was similarly blushing and the other unrepentant. "This is your fault, Melanie!" Jaune griped.

"I'd do it again in a heartbeat, Snowflake."

... of course she would.

* * *

After a bit of bickering and banter, Jaune and the twins had made their way down to the club itself and were back at rest at the bar.

Junior was behind the bar with a sandwich, looking over the news on one of the T.V.s behind the bar. It was too early for them to really be open, only around noon, so the big man was just blowing time until the club could open it's doors.

Jaune, Melanie, and Miltiades had taken their usual seats at the bar; Jaune on a stool and the girls at either side of him.

At this point, they were just hanging out. Jaune didn't have anything else he needed to be doing today, and the twins were always free until it actually got to be time for things to start up around the club. Unless they had some other job lined up for Junior, but that was admittedly rare.

The aforementioned man was rather miffed about the previous night, grumbling under his breath about "punk hunter kids tearing his shit up" and how he'd need to get someone to patch up the concrete out front now.

The Arc teen chuckled a bit, drawing attention from the girls at his side. "Sorry, sorry. I'm just kind of thinking about how crazy my life has gotten lately."

Melanie shrugged. "You're like a magnet for trouble, Snowflake. Not much else I can say on that one." He seemed to bring weirdness wherever he went.

"... it's not _that_ bad, is it?" Miltia questioned.

"Well..." Jaune began, thinking. "To start, I fell into a lake and ended up with superpowers." The girls nodded to that one, admitting that it was a rather strange incident altogether. "From there I stayed home for like a month and then took off on my own, just kind of drifting around and taking odd jobs here and there to build up enough cash for fake documents, only to end up nearly dying to some crazy girl with an ice-cream obsession. Who then gave me a discount on the fake documents I'd need."

Miltia began to look a little sheepish at the earlier question, but Jaune wasn't quite done ranting yet.

"And then I come back here, make friends you guys, and just sort of blow some time until the papers are done. With said ice-cream girl harassing me via text at every opportunity." She'd actually calmed down on that lately, and he was somewhat concerned about it because it could be a quiet before the storm kind of deal. "Then some blonde girl makes a mess out of my favorite hangout, we fight, and I then find that she's the sister of the first friend I made at Beacon so I basically _have_ to put up with her."

"... Okay so maybe it is that bad." The red-clad twin admitted under the amused gazes of her friend and sister.

That brought some laughs from the others, which she couldn't help but join in with.

Altogether, Miltiades was very happy Jaune had showed up in their lives. Originally she and Melanie had just kept to themselves, since the goons were just nameless muscle and Junior was just their boss... but Jaune's arrival had even managed to affect that. They'd been actually talking to Junior on a friendlier basis than before, and even the faceless goons weren't quite so faceless anymore.

The whole reason for it, she guessed, was because Jaune was just so friendly. Because he'd pull Junior into conversations from time to time, they'd talk more to him just because they were used to it. And he'd go out of his way to help out the rank and file members of their little organization whenever they got shipments in, so that'd earned him some points with them. Which, in turn, lead to her and Melanie actually giving said mooks the time of day.

It was funny how he'd managed to brighten things up around this place.

"Why hello there, everyone!" A voice cut Miltiades out of her thoughts, the girl looking up to see the unexpected sight of Roman Torchwick waltzing into the building. "How are you fine folks doin' today?"

Junior snorted in response, standing from his chair and turning the T.V. off. "Unexpected visits aren't like you, Roman. What's the occasion?" The man wasn't exactly thrilled with his arrival, but not particularly put out either.

As irritating as Roman could sometimes be, he was a valuable asset in a lot of ways.

Roman chuckled, fiddling with his bowler hat briefly. "What, a man can't stop in to say hello to his good friends every now and again?" His green eyes filled with amusement as he looked the large man over.

The twins sighed lightly, irritated with his flamboyant nature as they slipped off their own stools to stand by Junior as the man walked closer to the ginger-haired thief.

"It'd be the first time for it." Junior replied dully, eyes rolling as he straightened his tie. "Anything you needed in particular or _is_ this just a social call?"

Roman shrugged, leaning on his cane as his eyes cut towards the Arc teen seated at the bar, who hadn't moved just yet. "Actually, I was lookin' for the kid over there. Wanted to talk to him about somethin'." Seeing the narrowed eyes of the twins, he sighed. "For cryin' out loud, I ain't trying to steal your boy-toy... Neo might be, though..." He chuckled out that last part, nodding over towards the boy again with a small grin.

This drew their attention to the boy again, only to see the exasperated Arc's lap now occupied with a grinning Neopolitan.

"... hello to you too, Neo." Jaune chuckled. "You know there were two seats open next to me, right?"

 _'I wouldn't want to take one of their seats, that'd be rude.'_ Neo typed out, showing him the scroll over her shoulder. _'Besides, you're my favorite chair.'_

"Oh boy. I'm just so proud." Jaune replied sarcastically. He looked up to the rest of the assembled people, gauging their reactions.

Melanie and Miltia were rather plainly annoyed, probably by the arrival of Roman interrupting their relaxation as well as Neo claiming him as her seat. Junior was a bit exasperated, but not otherwise concerned it seemed.

And then Roman himself just had a rather pleasant smile slapped onto his face, as though the whole situation was amusing to him. And it probably was, really. The man seemed like the type, considering his reaction upon informing Jaune of how Neo had stopped harassing him via scroll in favor of her 'new toy'. Neo herself was wearing her typical smug expression, per the norm.

"So what were you looking for me for, anyway?" Jaune cut in, figuring it best to get on with this. "It must be something fairly important if you'd show up out of the blue just because I texted Neo to let her know where I was." That was what he assumed this was about, anyway. Neo's texts had been along the lines of their usual banter, but he'd gone to the trouble of letting her know about the incident with CRDL and where he was just as a sort of conversation topic.

Roman laughed at that. "Got it in one, kiddo. Me and Neo had somethin' we wanted to talk to you about." He then sighed a bit, as though he knew these next words would earn him some ire. "Privately, that is." The man glanced towards the club owner and his enforcers.

Melanie and Miltiades both clearly wanted to say something to oppose that, but held their tongues without even any motion from Junior to do so.

Junior himself shrugged. "That's up to Snowball himself, then." It wasn't any of his business what the kid did, and he didn't particularly care to get any dirt on Roman himself. He had ammunition enough to deal a hefty blow to the man's criminal empire just via the associates of his that he did have material on, and that served as his insurance in any dealings with the man.

They kept things cordial at all times, and truthfully they did hold value to one another as business partners went. But Junior couldn't take Roman in a fight, and Neo was even further out of his league. So in order to remain an equal rather than a subordinate, he needed something to even the playing field.

It was a balance that had to be kept, just a rule of the world they lived in.

Jaune shrugged. "Sure, I guess. Mind if we sit at one of the booths by the wall, Junior?" Out of earshot of them, but not leaving the club itself. He trusted Neo to some degree, figuring he had some sort of usefulness to her due to the favor she'd asked for, but wasn't exactly comfortable following them somewhere random.

The big man grunted. "Knock yourself out." He waved dismissively, before turning to the bar and checking the time. "We still got a bit before time to open, so you'll have time to get your shit sorted out."

And with that, the man promptly hopped back over his bar counter and picked up his half-eaten sandwich.

The twins regarded him briefly, concern in their eyes, but he waved it off with a smile. "Neo, I'm gonna need you to get off me so I can move."

His reply came in the form of a scroll. _'I'm not moving, so you'll have to carry me I guess.'_ She grinned wickedly at him over her shoulder.

Rolling his eyes, the teen did just that. Scooping her into his arms bridal style, he stood. "You're ridiculous, you know that?"

 _'Love you too, dear.'_ She replied smugly, lounging in his arms and shooting a teasing glance towards the twins.

The two of them glared briefly, before walking off in a huff.

Roman laughed as he walked over towards one of the far booths, twirling his cane jovially. "You've got yourself quite the following, kid."

"I seem to draw attention everywhere I go." Jaune admitted dully, glancing at the girl in his arms. "Are you doing this just to annoy Melanie and Miltia?"

She shrugged with a small smirk.

He'd take that as a yes.

Soon enough they reached the booth, and Jaune slid into his seat. Neo shifted a bit, leaning her back against the wall but laying her legs over his. Roman slipped in on the other side, regarding Neo with a quirked brow that she only returned with a silent giggle. The man shrugged.

"Right. So, kid, I'll make this quick; I'm here to make you an offer." The ginger haired man began, leaning on the table a bit. "You already owe Neo here a favor, and we're not here to cash in on that today; this is more from me to you, a business proposition if you will."

Jaune blinked at that. "Alright..." he spoke slowly, unsure of the situation. "What would you even want from me?"

"You're a student at Beacon, kid." Roman replied easily. "You'd have pretty easy access to a lot of information I'd be keen on knowing, I'm sure."

A frown came to his lips. "I know I'm not exactly an upstanding citizen, considering how I got into Beacon... but I do want to be a Huntsman for a lot of the same reasons anyone else would."

"And that's just fine." The man chuckled at the incredulous look. "I'm not askin' for you to go tellin' me the weaknesses and strengths of the students or teachers there, kid; I don't even need any of that, because more often than not I'm not involved with them." Which was true. Because Roman wasn't trying to destroy the city or any nonsense like that, he was just out to make a profit for himself. He had no grudge against the Hunters or the system itself, so he just tended to avoid it all when he could.

As Red had proven, Auraless goons were just going to get dropped like flies. And finding help capable of dealing with a huntress in training? Unlikely unless you were doing it yourself. Just altogether impractical.

"... then what would you want?" Jaune repeated, confused as to what he could even offer the man.

"Case to case stuff." He said with a wave of his hand. "I'd just like to have someone on hand who I could ask. Anything you heard that you thought I'd wanna know, I can trust your judgement on that, and then just whatever I needed to know I'd ask." Roman shrugged. "Despite how easy Neo may have made it seem, getting into Beacon isn't exactly simple. Most'a the folks that get in would be so set against this, or me rather, that it'd be pointless to try." Grinning, the man continued. "And most cheaters can't get good enough forges to even make it into Beacon; they're not the best for no reason, after all. But you're the perfect combination of factors for me to at least make the offer."

At mention of her skills in forgery, Neo's smugness seemed to increase yet again. Jaune wasn't aware that was even possible.

Thinking about it, Jaune was still wary... but curious. "And if you wanted something that I wasn't able to get you, or that I was unwilling to share?"

Roman shrugged. "Still more than most people could get, kid. I ain't exactly losing much, you see." No one really had an informant in Beacon. Their ability to pick out forgeries and moles was top notch, and the staff was extremely exclusive even before considering that. The only real option was to try for a student, but most of the accepted students at Beacon had a moral compass that didn't exactly allow for that.

Having someone in Beacon to at least act as an early warning system for when the bigwigs took notice? That'd be useful at least.

Jaune nodded in response. "Okay... so I'd be helping you find anything you wanted to know, within reason, and warning you if anything came up that could cause problems. Is that right?"

"About, yeah." Roman replied. "I ain't askin' for much, truthfully. If you catch somethin' involving my name at Beacon, it'd probably be something I'd want to know about just for the sake of it." Because with what he was having to do now, it was entirely possible that Ozpin and company could take note and try to put a stop to him. And that one near miss with Goodwitch was enough for him, thanks. "Other than that, I'd just ask you to find out."

"And what am I getting in return?" Jaune asked. "I already owe Neo a favor, and if this isn't paying it back then why would I bother?"

"You're untrained, right? All just your guesswork and using your Semblance." Roman began, taking note of the nod it got in reaction. "Well, my Melodic Cudgel here went through a few iterations before her final design; some of the earlier ones were similar to that stick you like to swing around." The man lifted his cane for emphasis, showing it off. "I may not be a professional Huntsman, but I'm just as experienced. Neo'd be helping out as well, for the record." He nodded over to the girl, who merely waved in response. "So you'd get yourself a pair of tutors with years of experience under their belts in exchange. Sound like a deal?"

Glancing towards Neo, who was apparently quite comfortable, Jaune quirked a brow. "I get that you're talking a one on one kind of teaching thing, but I _am_ going to Beacon to learn how to become a Hunter."

"You'd also be buildin' up a bit of support for later though, kiddo." Roman replied, apparently having foreseen this argument. "Think about it; Huntsman take missions that often put them in unfamiliar territory, scrounging together what info they can on their own. Junior's got blackmail, kid, but me? I've got connections and information that are a bit more useful for practical applications." The big man had his hands in every pie in Vale, he could ruin just about any bigwig out there if he felt the need to.

But Roman didn't go to Junior to find specs for Atlesian tech that hadn't been released yet. He didn't go to Junior for floor plans and security rundowns of the places he planned to hit. Roman had his own sources for that kind of information, and they were extensive.

"And you're saying this would get me in with you for later." Jaune inferred after a second, clearly thinking about it. "... I don't really have problems with you, and it's not like I think crime is something that'll eventually vanish if we try hard enough." So long as there were laws, there would be people who broke them. The criminal world would always exist, no matter what you did. The Arc teen had pretty well figured that out by this point, things weren't really black and white so much as an infinite number of different shades of grey.

He didn't know Roman. Heck, he hardly even knew Neo despite how close she seemed to act with him.

But thus far, neither of them seemed like the kind of horrible people he knew could exist in this world. They were hardly good people, seeing as how Neo was a killer and Roman was a thief, but... well, better the devil you know than the one you don't. Especially if he was someone on good terms with said devils.

If he accepted the fact that there was always going to be a criminal underworld, and he had good friends that were deeply involved with it... well, why not at least make use of it for himself? Hadn't he already done that once, done something criminal to attend Beacon?

As long as he kept his own personal morals, did it really hurt anything?

Jaune sighed. "Alright. You've got a deal."

This reaction drew some excited clapping from Neo.

"Glad to hear it, kid." Roman replied, extending a hand to shake. "Since Neo's already given you her info, just use her to relay stuff to me. For the moment, there isn't anything I'm after with Beacon so just keep your ears open."

"Alright." He replied, grasping the man's hand in his own. "As far as the offer for training goes, how are we doing that?"

The man chuckled at that. "Just let Neo know when you'll have some free time and we'll set somethin' up for ya'." Roman grinned at the girl using Jaune's lap as a cushion for her legs. "She's been lookin' forward to this, y'know."

"... I feel like I may have made a bad decision." Jaune couldn't help but say, glancing at the girl and her wicked smile. "Is she just gonna use this as an excuse to kick my ass?"

"Probably. But hey, what better teacher is there than experience?"

Oh, this would be an experience alright, if the expression on the duo's faces were anything to go by.

'You know...' Jaune thought to himself, glancing between the two criminals. 'Maybe I should just _stop_ making deals with the devil.'

But, somehow... that just didn't seem too likely.

* * *

And there we go. Jaune is getting a bit deeper involved with Roman, what ever could this mean for him? Also the twins making their moves, so that's a thing. We were lacking in Neopolitan, so that was something that needed to be fixed. Also went back and made some light edits to chapter 8 in light of some stuff mentioned in reviews.

I'm sorry for the long time between posts, I suppose, but unfortunately that's just kind of what I am. I'm not consistent and I'm not quick. I do know where this story is going for sure, but I just don't always have the right words to get through the chapter.


	10. Chapter 10

And here we have a bizarre situation in which I throw out a second chapter update within a month. I just kind of rode the high off of posting chapter nine at last, I suppose, because this came out in like a week.

I don't own RWBY at all btw. Disclaimers are important fanfiction tradition.

* * *

Roman Torchwick grinned widely as he entered his not-so-humble abode, the luxurious safehouse serving as his base of operations. Hidden in the middle of Vale on the second floor of a dummy business he'd set up years ago, the place was one of his favorite little hideouts scattered through the city.

He had a ton of them, of course... but this was easily the best as far as location went. Close enough to everything he could reasonably want to get to, large enough to be comfortable, and equipped with all the creature comforts one could want.

"Well, Neo, how would you say our little negotiation with your pet went?" He questioned, twirling around and flicking his hat onto the hanger near the door, his coat slipping off and joining it soon after.

Neopolitan shrugged, her hands quickly typing up a response. _'He's cautious about it, you could see it in his eyes. Truthfully, I guess he caught on to just how good of a deal it was and he didn't peg you as needing a spy in Beacon bad enough to warrant it.'_ Pausing for a moment and showing this to Roman, she pulled the scroll back and continued. _'But since he agreed, Jaune probably believes that whatever your "real" endgame is with Beacon, he won't be tricked into giving you anything useful.'_ Not to mention he could just as easily falsify information if it came to that.

If the two of them had any actual intentions with Beacon, Jaune would be a horrible informant for them just because of how much power he would hold. They couldn't intimidate him, that much Neo knew full-well; he'd been more willing to die than do anything not in line with his morals when she demanded a favor, so they wouldn't get much that route.

Roman nodded. "All according to plan, then." He wanted the kid to be suspicious of the offer, of just why he'd given so much for so little. It'd make things easier when he eventually ' _revealed'_ what he needed, give the kid reason to believe they needed him. And, in truth, they _did_ need him to some degree. The kid was going to be the best shot they had at doing away with Cinder Fall.

One of the most recent bits of information Cinder had provided him was that her plans would take her and her cronies undercover at Beacon.

It was perfect. They were going deep undercover with full expectations that Beacon was an isolated zone from him and Taurus, that her coerced allies wouldn't be able to capitalize on her location right under the nose of the enemy.

And in normal circumstances, she'd be right. Neither Adam Taurus or Roman Torchwick would be able to get reliable proof of Cinder Fall's plans to anyone important at Beacon without harsh consequences to themselves or simple potential of failure.

Neo could potentially slip in and leave something, but the issue with _that_ was that Cinder knew well his little partner's abilities. She had limited his interaction with tangible documents to a bare minimum in note of this, and nothing he actually had was going to be enough to even scratch her. Hardly worth risking Neo's capture at the hands of Beacon for that.

And as far as the White Fang? There was no way that an infiltrator of theirs could even make it to Beacon without Cinder Fall's notice, and they would be swiftly dispatched before managing to get anything to the important people at the school. And the fallout would then be on the rest of the organization.

But then there was Jaune Arc. The kid was going to be the trump card in all of this.

It'd be so easy to fabricate a story for the kid, maybe something about how he'd made a friend with a Faunus who'd fallen in with the wrong crowd. Found out that they were working under someone named Cinder Fall, who's powers had managed to cow their leader in Adam Taurus and force them to work alongside him. How that same woman was now a student visiting for the Vytal Festival, and her team was made up of the son of a notorious assassin and a ruthless thief.

And just like that, presto! Someone with the kind of power it took to make Adam Taurus back down, and even concede to working with someone like Roman? That would rustle some jimmies up at Beacon, he was sure. Not to mention the additional dangerous individuals that Mercury Black and Emerald Sustrai presented.

It would take a bit of fleshing out, he'd need to play his cards right, and a better angle could come up at any time if he waited for it. But if he could get Cinder caught unprepared in the middle of Beacon Academy, surrounded by professional Huntsman who had spent most of their lives fighting? In the domain of Ozpin himself?

She may manage to hurt or even _kill_ some of them. But against the likes of Peter Port, Bartholomew Oobleck, and Glynda Goodwitch? Headmaster Ozpin, the legend himself?

Either Cinder would be killed or captured, or she would prove to be strong enough to take on those odds without a sweat. In which case Roman would have no choice but to follow her, and the kid would take the blame for disrupting her plans.

The man grinned. "We'll take it slow at first; ask the kid little things here and there that are moderately useful, maybe push the limits of just what he'll be willin' to give." He walked over towards his recliner, kicking his shoes off on the way. If the kid was willing to give them things that were actually useful? All the better. But if not, well, he'd still serve his purpose in the end.

"Once our dear employer makes her way to Beacon, we'll spin the kid a tale about how the three of them are criminals intruding on our turf, have him keep an eye on them." Revealing the full truth of them to the kid would only result in the trap being sprung too early. He wanted to choose the time and place perfectly for this one, or else it could all fall apart. Sliding down into the seat, he sighed in pleasure. "And then at the end of it all, when we've got the best possible setup, we spring the trap; let him in on just how _bad_ they are, just what they're capable of, and from there it'll all be over."

The kid would go along with them in a heartbeat once he let him in on just what kind of enemies they shared, and how he could be the one to put them out of commission.

Neo grinned widely, prancing off towards the loveseat opposite his recliner and settling in. _'And until then, we get to play teacher for him. Don't act like you're not looking forward to it even a little.'_

Roman grunted. "You're lookin' into _that_ too much, Neo. The better the kid is, the more likely he's gonna live until we need him. Do you know how pissed I would be if this whole idea went down the drain cuz' some kid was just a little too slow or a bit too clumsy to keep himself from gettin' offed?"

The girl frowned in response. _'Probably not as angry as me considering I'm the one who came up with it.'_ Not to mention she'd become somewhat fond of the boy, seeing as how he was one of her very few outlets for her boredom as of late. If he ended up dying she would have to start harassing poor Roman again.

And honestly, she did feel sort of bad about that. Roman was her closest companion, the partner who had been with her for so long. And she knew full well that Cinder was stressing him out, and that her boredom aimed at him wasn't exactly helping... but she was just _so_ _bored_! It wasn't her fault, it was because of that stupid fire-toting whore in the skimpy dress and her insistence that Neo not make herself a public face.

Neo could have any number of faces for crying out loud! It wasn't like she was going to be all over the news; she could rob three different banks in one day as three different people, and none of them would actually be her so not a soul would know anything.

But no. Cinder was adamant that she was restrained as much as possible. Even her little outings to harass Jaune were something of a breach of that agreement, but what the bitch didn't know wouldn't hurt her.

Until it _did_ , that is. Because Cinder wouldn't know that they had someone in Beacon well before she got there, someone they could contact regularly.

Cinder Fall was going to Beacon under the assumption that her actions there would be completely unknown by the people she had coerced into working for her.

That assumption was going to lead to her downfall.

It was enough to bring the smile right back to her face. _'Please.'_ She typed up, giving Roman a knowing look. _'You're telling me you're not even a little bit excited to see some use of your first drafts for that cane of yours?'_

Another grunt, accompanied by a light glare. "My Melodic Cudgel is more than just a cane you little gnome..." He grumbled, running his hand along the weapon in question. "But yes, you're not _entirely_ wrong... since I moved away from the original, lengthier, design to better accommodate the cannon, the prototypes have just been gathering dust." And as much as Roman hated to admit it, that did sort of grate on him.

Melodic Cudgel's original design had been more of a shepherds crook than the cane it was now. But the cannon wasn't as practical due to it's size, the thing was just too unwieldy for a weapon of that nature, and the mechanisms inside of the shaft for the grappling hook made it impossible to implement a collapsible design in addition to the cannon and grapple, due to the chambers necessary for the dust.

So he'd cut a good chunk of the length from the shaft and salvaged the hook and cannon as best he could into the final design. It ended up working splendidly, leaving Melodic Cudgel at the same length as a gentleman's cane and providing excellent stability and control for the cannon, retaining the incredibly useful function of the grappling hook, but losing a bit of the reach he'd previously enjoyed with the full design.

A bit of adaptation to his fighting style had sorted things out, but there were days that Roman did find himself wishing he'd come up with a way to get the idea of a retractable design working on Melodic Cudgel so he wouldn't need to sacrifice that reach for the firepower. It was a worthwhile trade, for sure, but still somewhat unsatisfying.

And more importantly, the prototype hadn't been something he could bring himself to take apart. She was nameless and unused for the most part, gathering dust.

Roman wasn't the kind most would view as sentimental, but he _had_ constructed the prototype with hours of meticulous work and careful planning. It was the first realization of his vision, and he felt unsatisfied with how it had ended up.

She was something of a... frame, at the moment. Most of her internals had been removed for use in the current incarnation, but with a bit of love she could be back in working condition.

He could breath a bit of life back into the previously abandoned weapon, work her into something special.

It'd be pointless for him to use her, though, not after he'd spent so long fighting with the much shorter version. And Neo had her own weapon already, had her own style that wasn't even remotely compatible.

But if the kid was interested in pursuing a friendly association with him in the future, something Roman _was_ hoping for as having a Beacon graduated Hunter on good terms with him held a lot of potential, then that old design may end up finding itself a good fit at last.

So yes, he did get a little something out of teaching the kid. Maybe help influence him, get on friendlier terms so he'd be more willing to work with them, mold him a bit here and there to get a worthwhile associate for the future.

The kid wanted to be a Huntsman to protect people, be a hero. That was fine. Anything Roman wanted from a Huntsman would be aligned with those desires anyway; after all, the less competition he had the better. The kid could definitely benefit from busting some gangs here and there, getting organized crime rates in Vale down.

That was the future, though. For now, he'd uphold his end of the bargain he'd given the kid, and eventually he'd spring the most unlikely of traps on Cinder Fall.

Who would've thought some random kid would be the best shot he and Neo had at going back to their normal lives?

"Heh. Special snowflake indeed, am I right Neo?" He asked with a chuckle.

The girl merely rolled her eyes at his humor, though the little grin on her lips let him know she was thinking much the same.

* * *

Wandering down the streets of Vale, making his way towards the Bullheads that would be heading back to Beacon, Jaune couldn't help but feel that he'd finally gone past the point of no return in agreeing to assist Roman Torchwick.

While he'd committed a crime in the first place by having documents forged to attend Beacon, Jaune was originally planning for that to be an exception to the rule.

But as he hung around with Junior and the twins more, Jaune was steadily starting to realize just how _useful_ the criminal underworld could be. Junior's information network consisted of enough blackmail that he could get away with just about anything in Vale, because no one would be willing to call him on it for fear of what he could reveal of them.

And that put a lot into perspective for him too. Junior's dirt didn't just extend to others in his business. He had something on just about any relevant figure with power in Vale, with some notable exceptions that were primarily Huntsmen.

But as far as the civilian infrastructure went, no one was as clean as Jaune had originally thought or else Junior wouldn't be able to threaten them so much.

If people who got into such lofty positions were involved in the kind of things that could ruin them if leaked, then really, why the hell would he even care about a bit of association to people involved in shady business? Clearly he was far from the only one.

And as that became clearer to him, Jaune began realizing more and more that maybe it _wasn't_ so important for him to stick entirely to the straight and narrow.

Especially if he could find ways to use these clandestine methods to further his goals. Because while Jaune had admitted to Melanie some time ago that he didn't think of his goals as selfless, he could say from an objective standpoint that he, Jaune Arc, wanted to help people.

So long as he never swayed from that simple intention, never started really looking out for _only_ himself, the Arc teen couldn't see any reason why it mattered if he did things in a way some people would frown on.

He wanted to be a hero, because that was just what he wanted to be. Jaune got satisfaction out of helping people, plain and simple. Even if it sounded somewhat selfish to put it that way, that he was doing it just for his own sense of satisfaction, in the end he wanted to make the world safer for everyone.

A small smile came to his lips as he recalled Ruby's brief conversation with Blake, and how much of that innocent conviction the smaller girl had. That they would be the reason the world was a better place, they were the ones to fight for the happy ending to the fairytale called life. She'd said it in such a way that it wasn't her trying to convince others or herself. It was just her pure, honest belief.

It was probably why he got along so well with her, because in a lot of ways her dreams mirrored his own.

Well, that and because she was honest to goodness one of the most adorable creatures on the face of Remnant.

"It should be illegal for anyone to be that cute... especially anyone who can decapitate a giant Nevermore." He muttered aloud to himself, shaking his head with a wide grin as he finally spotted the Bullhead station. Fiddling a bit with the white button-down he'd borrowed from Junior's, a spare lying around from a leftover uniform, the teen was soon distracted as he tried to remember whether or not he had enough black thread to sew his hoodie back together.

A presence to his right drew Jaune's notice as he continued on, making him turn to regard the person who he had only just realized was there. A pair of amused amber eyes regarded him. "Well, that's an interesting thing to say all of a sudden." Blake Belladonna replied to his previous statement with a small smile, offering him a brief wave. "Should I let my partner know just how you seem to be thinking of her sister out of the blue?" The girl joked.

Flushing slightly at the insinuation, the frosty Arc nonetheless played along. "I'd rather you didn't; I've had enough fights with Yang recently, much rather avoid her trying to maul me for something like this." Because Yang was ridiculously overprotective, and while he'd managed to avoid most of the "big sister wrath" from her seeing as how he was Ruby's first real friend at Beacon, that would only go so far if she got it in her head that he was after her little sister in that sense.

Quirking a brow, Blake offered a small shrug. "If that's the case, then how about you indulge me for a bit? There's something I'd been meaning to ask you."

Jaune blinked. "Uh... sure. There's a little cafe nearby, wanna get a table for a bit? I'm kind of hungry." While he did feel somewhat iffy about eating shortly before a trip back to Beacon via airship, the belly was getting a bit too peckish to really care about that. He'd just make due with something light to hold him over.

"Sounds like a plan." Blake replied after a moment. "Lead the way, then."

As he began to walk towards the little shop nearby, only a few buildings away from the station as a matter of fact, Jaune figured small talk was always a good way to start things off. "So how are things in RWBYland?" He asked.

"Good enough. Weiss and Ruby got over their little spat early on." She kept a neutral expression, but it was clear that she was at least fond of her team. "Yang can be a pain sometimes..." Blake chuckled at the shocked expression and mouthed 'sometimes?' that this drew from him. "You're the only one she puts that much effort into harassing, it seems."

"Aren't I just special..." Jaune replied dully as they reached the door to the little cafe, opening the entryway and gesturing for her to head through. "Ladies first."

Rolling her eyes, the dark haired teen stepped into the establishment.

"Hello there!" The hostess, a fairly pretty brunette girl with green eyes, greeted them as they arrived. "Would you like a table or booth seating?"

"Booth." The two of them replied simultaneously, glancing at one another after a moment passed and they realized that had just happened.

The hostess giggled a bit at that, before quickly ushering them towards one of the booths near the window that looked out to the street they had come in from.

"Cozy place." He began after the girl had left, perusing the menu. "Anyhow, you were talking about a certain blonde menace?"

"She's not really that bad, honestly. To anyone other than you, I suppose... but she can sometimes get to be too much to deal with." The next time that her partner went off on a pun tangent, Blake didn't know what she would do. She couldn't exactly purchase earplugs to tune the blonde brawler out. "Usually, though, she's fine. And how about your own team?" While she did come with a specific purpose in mind, Blake figured she would at least let him order his food beforehand. As well as return the courtesy of asking how she was.

A warm smile overtook Jaune's face. "Honestly? I don't think I could be happier about my team." _His_ team... it just felt so good to say, and not in the sense that he was the leader. "I get along with them all just fine; Pyrrha and Ren are kind of quiet, but they're both really smart and great listeners, and they hit it off really well too."

Ren and Pyrrha complimented one another well. Pyrrha seemed content just to have a partner she could actually befriend without her celebrity status getting in the way, but moreover she and Ren had spent a lot of time just discussing various combat strategies and whatnot with one another.

Which was something Pyrrha was clearly fond of, and Ren didn't get much chance to do because Nora wasn't a planner. She was spontaneous and hectic, sporadic and electric. Spur of the moment bursts of genius weren't unheard of, but she didn't appreciate the planning aspects of battle; that was better left for other people, such as Ren and, now, him.

"And then Nora... she's kind of a handful, but I like it." The girl had probably loosened a few of _his_ screws, but in the grand scheme of things Jaune figured that may be a good thing. "She's silly and funny, always harassing me to do stuff with my Semblance for her amusement." It reminded him, in a way, of his sisters and their habits of pestering him into things.

... that shouldn't have been a _good_ thing, necessarily, but Jaune kind of enjoyed it. He wouldn't have always caved to his sister's whims if he actually didn't want to, after all. "But she can be a lot more serious than you'd think from talking to her." And that protective streak was mean, too. He was really glad Dove's surprise attack hadn't hit him harder, or she may have gone ballistic on them when she found out.

But he couldn't say much, because if it was him he would be just as bad. "And since Ren and Nora get on so well, being childhood friends, it kind of glued the team together right away; Pyrrha and Ren hang out since they're partners, yeah, but Nora isn't just going to leave her bestest friend alone. So then I get drug into it, too, because she won't leave her partner out of the fun." He was sort of rambling, but judging by the amused yet interested look on Blake's face she didn't particularly mind it.

"You haven't stopped smiling since you started talking about them." She noted after a moment of silence between them.

True enough, he still couldn't keep the smile off his face. "Even if we haven't known each other that long in the grand scheme of things, it's nice to feel like you belong."

Blake blinked at that, before nodding. She could understand that sentiment quite a bit, actually.

Another few moments of comfortable silence passed, until the waitress came to jot down their orders. Shortly after she left, Blake spoke up again.

"I actually stopped you here because I wanted to talk to you about something specific." She began. Seeing his attention on her, she restrained a small sigh. "This may seem really forward and a bit strange, but I feel like I have to know. Why did you stand up for Velvet when Winchester was harassing her?"

Jaune blinked at that. "... Uh. Because?" He replied, a bit questioningly, before taking a second to think it through more. "I don't know... I mean, I guess I see it like this; I don't know what reason I would have _not_ to have done it." That was really all it was to him. He didn't really need a specific reason for helping someone out like that... oh, wait. "Are you asking because she's a Faunus?"

A small frown on her lips, Blake replied. "Yes... usually people are content to just let something like that go unnoticed."

"Well, there you have your reason then." The white haired teen replied. "I think that anyone who _would_ ignore something like that _just_ because she was a Faunus is an idiot." He let out a breath through his nose, a bit irritated at the line of thought. "I just don't get why people can't figure out that we're not helping matters by being so awful to Faunus. Just take something like the White Fang for example, right?" He didn't quite notice the way she flinched at that, a bit too caught up in his ranting. "Who's more likely to join up with them: the Faunus store owner who's regulars consist of just as many humans as not, or the one who was mugged outside his own store by humans just because he had a pair of cat ears?"

She didn't need to answer verbally for him to know which one she picked. The look on her face was answer enough. After another couple moments of silence, with her just sort of inspecting him, their food arrived.

Jaune had ordered himself a turkey-BLT and fries, his stomach having overtaken his better judgement and forcing him to order a full meal. Blake's meal of choice had been a tuna and cheese melt, and the girl's attention was quickly drawn by that.

They shared their meal in relative silence until Jaune had nearly finished off his fries, having half a sandwich left. "... sorry if I seemed a little mad there. I guess I'm just a really opinionated person." He didn't have some Faunus friend that had made him realize how much the bias was felt or anything. It was just that he knew it existed, and he'd heard of a lot of incidents caused by the White Fang, and it's origin.

If anything, that was probably why it stuck with him; the White Fang, he kind of saw himself in that organization. Never able to bring change about the right way, eventually forced to switch to a different method.

He had forged his way into Beacon, lied and cheated to get into a position he couldn't achieve legally. Whereas the White Fang had stooped to violent methods and terrorism to try and gain the equality they desired.

Maybe not exactly the same... but there were enough similarities.

If you couldn't get results one way, the only two choices were to give up or try something else.

And Jaune knew full well that if you wanted something bad enough, giving up wasn't an option at all.

"No, it's fine. I'm glad to see that someone else feels like that." Blake didn't mention the specific fact that he was a _human_ who felt that way, rather than a Faunus. That was what had thrown her for a loop, what had made her so eager to speak with him.

When she had seen Cardin bullying Velvet, Blake had resigned herself to ignoring it. She wanted to get involved, it was _wrong_ not to get involved... but standing up for a Faunus in the middle of Beacon's cafeteria was only going to lead to rumors and scrutiny, something she couldn't afford. Not when the only thing protecting her secret was a little black bow.

But then Jaune had just stood up like it was the most natural thing in the world that he would, walked over to Cardin, and promptly shut him down.

And he did it in such a way that he seemed to be questioning everyone else. Why was he the one to stand up? Why was he the _only_ one to stand up?

But it wasn't his intention to do so. It was just the fact that while everyone else was sitting around wishing they would stop it, Jaune Arc hadn't even considered the idea that he _wouldn't_ stop it.

"Thank you, Jaune. I think I really needed to hear that." Blake admitted after a few minutes, finishing off her own meal.

The teen shrugged in response. "Sure thing, Blake. Glad I could help." Glancing towards his cleared plate, he spoke again. "Are you heading back to Beacon after this or planning to roam around a bit?"

She blinked at that, seemingly thinking about it. "I think I'll actually be paying a visit to Tukson's Book Trade. I've gone through a lot of my reading material lately, something new would be nice." That and the owner was an acquaintance of sorts, and she sort of wanted to catch up with him.

Idly grabbing the ticket for the meal, Jaune hummed. "I think I've seen that place around. Been meaning to check it out myself." Seeing the scrutiny this drew, he chuckled a bit and explained. "Well... not many places in Vale seem to carry X-Ray and Vav comics, and I'm actually a bit behind on them." He'd hardly been able to blow his lien on comics while saving up to pay a forge in addition to his own cost of living.

That got a laugh from her. "I think he carries those. Something about how they're really popular with children." Blake couldn't restrain the snicker at his expression.

He rolled his eyes at that. "Well, it's been fun talking to you, but I probably should get back before Nora decides to build a fort with our beds again." While he could certainly appreciate the sentiment, as bedroom forts were awesome, Pyrrha wasn't exactly comfortable with everyone sharing a pallet on the floor inside of the structure... so they had to take it apart.

Which was one hell of a job, because Nora was nothing if not dedicated. She'd removed the mattresses for use, yes, but moreover she had actually moved the entire bed-frames, some of them had been on their sides for use as walls. The entire thing had been pretty grand, honestly, with their sheets draped over the frames of the beds and a single sheet hanging half-way to the floor being used as the entryway. They all could have fit inside it easily.

It had taken a bit of time to undo that.

"Somehow I don't doubt she would do that." Blake replied, thinking about the rather pieced-together bunk beds they had constructed for their own room. That had been Ruby's idea, but no one other than Weiss had really protested it... "I'll see you later, then."

With a wave, Jaune quickly walked up to pay the ticket before departing, leaving Blake to her thoughts at the table.

After a few minutes of thinking about the conversation she'd had with Jaune Arc, she belatedly realized that they had never split the ticket. Meaning that he had just paid for her meal as well without comment.

The girl frowned at that. "... and I don't have his number so I can't hunt him down to demand he let me pay him back." She didn't exactly like that, it made her feel like a bum. She'd been too caught up in her own thoughts to realize he'd done it.

She eventually decided she would just treat him next time so they would be even.

* * *

After a grueling airship ride back to Beacon, in which Jaune regretted that BLT like it was the worst decision of his life, he had finally reunited with his team.

Or half of it. Nora was nowhere to be found, but Ren and Pyrrha were both around. "Oh, hello Jaune." Pyrrha greeted pleasantly, a wide smile on her face as she polished her weapon.

She was wearing her usual clothing rather than the uniform, seated on her bed at the far right of the room with her spear laying across her lap.

Seated on the bed next to hers was Lie Ren, who merely offered him a nod of greeting as he continued to read what appeared to be some sort of health-magazine.

Waving to them, Jaune immediately found himself somewhat curious. "... Uhm, guys. Where is Nora?" The fact that Ren was here but Nora was not kind of terrified him, because who knows what kind of lunacy she could get up to without him there to keep her occupied.

"She's hiding in the bathroom waiting to surprise you when you walk past." Ren replied calmly, turning the page of his magazine without even looking up.

Hearing that her plan had been foiled, the girl threw the door open and glared at her childhood friend. "Renny! I've been in there for the last half-hour waiting for this moment and you took it away from me!" She shouted, pointing at him dramatically. "How could you do this to me!?"

"Do you remember what happened the last time someone startled Jaune?" He asked, quirking one brow at the girl as he lowered his magazine.

Jaune flushed a bit at that, coughing into his hand as he recalled the time Yang had gotten the drop on him early on. In his surprise, and honestly because it was Yang and he was both cautious and somewhat scared of her, he'd used his Semblance.

And much like Ruby on her first day at Beacon, he _exploded_. But with way more ice and snow. He'd been too startled to really even concentrate on anything in particular, which had resulted in an entire hallway, and everyone in it, being coated in snow.

He had also made a particularly unmanly yelp that he would prefer to forget.

"Of course! It was awesome!" Nora replied, a wide grin on her lips at the memory. "Everything turned all snowy and he screamed like a little girl!"

"... thanks, Ren. I think..." He was both grateful for the intervention and somewhat irritated by the quiet amusement radiating off of the teen at that. "How have you all been today?"

"We've been well." Pyrrha spoke, smiling at him. "After hearing about the fight with team CRDL, we were worried about you. But after the call earlier we've been mostly idling around since you were fine."

"Yep! If we didn't hear from you we were gonna go on a Jauney-hunt in Vale until we found you." Nora chimed in. "But instead you were just sleeping over with some girls in Vale." The girl grinned widely at him, having calmed from her earlier outburst and moved over to her bed to sit.

Jaune grunted. "You had better not be spreading rumors about me, Nora..." He mumbled out, shooting her a sidelong glance as he deposited his things on his side of the room, the far left end next to Nora's own bed. It would be such a pain if word of that got out, because then he'd never hear the end of it from Yang. Not to mention Ruby would be all pouty about it, and that would end up killing him with cute.

The innocent look on her face didn't exactly inspire him with confidence, but he accepted it after a moment. "And you, Ren?"

Looking up again from his magazine, the teen's lips quirked upwards ever so slightly. "Nothing in particular." He'd had to look up where that nightclub Jaune frequented was in case they had to search for him, but then their leader had called so that point was rendered moot. He had seen some rather concerning things about the place mentioned online, though... and really, who named their establishment The Club?

Shrugging, Jaune couldn't help but wonder just how they had passed the time all day. Just as he was about to ask, a sudden tone from his scroll alerted him to a new message. Quirking a brow at that, the icy teen pulled out the offending device and quickly checked the most recent messages.

Something from Neo already? Surprising, if it was actually something business related. Otherwise it may just be her wanting to harass him.

With that in mind, he pulled up the full message and couldn't help but roll his eyes as he spotted that one magic word that practically described Neo in a nutshell.

 _'Bored.'_

Oh boy, here we go again... "So yeah. I think I'm gonna head up to the roof for a bit and hang out. Maybe get a little bit of training done with my Semblance while I'm up there."

In response to this, Pyrrha and Ren merely nodded in confirmation.

Nora, on the other hand... "Ooooh, can I come too? I wanna watch!" She thought Jaune's Semblance was one of the greatest things ever, so watching it in action was always fun. And since Pyrrha and Ren had spoiled her attempt at creating a snow-day within the confines of their dorm room, she would have to make due with that.

Turning on his heel and beginning to make his way to the rooftop, Jaune waved at her to come along. "Sure thing. I'm gonna chat with another friend of mine real quick then I'm gonna start messing around more with the ice an stuff, so bear with me if you can."

Gleefully, the ginger haired girl followed behind, offering a wave to the remaining pair within the dorm room as she and Jaune headed out.

With only Pyrrha in the room now, Ren's quiet laughter rang out. "I'm certainly glad she gets along so well with our leader." He spoke in response to the look it had garnered from the champion fighter.

Smiling at her partner, she couldn't help but agree. "Jaune is a very charismatic person, it's hard not to like him." He was funny, kind, and sociable. She especially appreciated the fact that he had legitimately no idea who she was without significant prodding and a reminder in the form of a cereal bar.

Being a celebrity was nice in a lot of ways, but it made it so difficult to really make friends because they seemed to always want to get closer to her just because she was famous. So it was a breath of fresh air that she had ended up in a team with a leader who's knowledge of her was fleeting at best, a teammate who knew of her in passing but had no real concern over her fame, and a partner who was fully aware of who she was and what she had done despite the fact that he didn't seem to care one way or another.

She couldn't have asked for more as far as a clean slate went. It was just grand.

Ren conceded that statement with a nod. "Even so, Nora is a bit of a handful. I was more speaking about how _he_ can handle her enthusiasm so well." In short, how Jaune _wasn't_ annoyed with her and her hijinks. Most people could only handle the hyperactive ginger in moderation, leaving him as her only real constant companion. But Jaune was different, he seemed like he had no problem whatsoever with her exuberance.

He'd given Nora another place to go, and that was something Ren was grateful for. The amount of quiet-time he got had gone up exponentially since Team JNPR had formed. In addition to that, Nora seemed happier now that they had more friends. Between Pyrrha and the entirety of Team RWBY, there was hardly a shortage of people for Nora to occupy herself with, not including himself or her own partner in Jaune.

Pyrrha shrugged. "I suppose. I'm glad that our team worked out so smoothly. I had been rather nervous about team selection." Any number of things could have gone wrong and saddled her with a team that could have been more concerned with her fame, for one, or just made up of individuals she had trouble getting along with.

Ren was a very good partner for her as far as compatibility. He was quiet and levelheaded, didn't concern himself with her history unless it was relevant, and they shared interests in things such as battle strategy or simple relaxation. His abilities in battle were nothing to scoff at, either, and the fluid style he fought with didn't clash with her own at all.

"It could certainly have gone much worse. One of us could have been paired with Winchester, after all." While it was meant as a joke, Ren couldn't help the downward tug of his lips as he mentioned the teen.

Cardin Winchester hadn't exactly endeared himself to any of their team with his little stunt, not to mention the distaste just from him being a bully in the first place.

"That would have been awful." Pyrrha agreed, her expression mirroring Ren's own distaste. "Cardin's opinions on Faunus and his mistreatment of others would grate on me quickly." She really had no idea what she would do in that situation. It was likely that she would try to tolerate it as much as possible, but eventually she would snap on him and that would just be a whole new mess.

Sighing, Ren spoke once more. "I'm rather concerned that they're going to try and instigate more conflict with Jaune now." He'd humiliated and terrified their leader in the middle of the lunch room and then beaten the four of them with help from his friends in Vale. But what if they caught him without those friends, or without his team? "Perhaps we'll need to impart a curfew for our leader... or designate a sitter for him."

Pyrrha giggled in response. "I suspect if Nora was with him they would steer clear entirely." The Valkyrie had put the fear of Magnhild into those boys last night. She had a protective streak, it seemed.

A smirk came to Ren's lips. "I imagine so." While it had been the three of them facing down the still winded Team CRDL, and Pyrrha's inclusion had clearly put them at a distinct disadvantage just because of who she was, they had soon realized that making Nora angry was very unwise.

She would've had no qualms with putting them in the hospital over attacking her partner, especially considering their history.

The two of them only had one another for the longest time, because they were almost always the odd ones out. Nora was always just _too_ bubbly, _too_ hyperactive, _too_ energetic... and he was the exact opposite. They didn't make friends easily because of this, because his typical silence and generally antisocial nature rubbed people the wrong way and because Nora quickly began to irritate with her constant... well... everything.

Enter Jaune Arc, someone who somehow put up with Nora's enthusiasm with a fond exasperation no matter what kind of shenanigans she put him through, or how long she'd been doing it. Someone who was more than willing to indulge her whims.

Team RWBY, close as they remained, couldn't tolerate _too_ much of Nora. Neither could Pyrrha, honestly; she was too kind to point it out, but Ren and even Nora could clearly see when her smile became a bit strained.

Jaune, though? No matter how he griped about it, no matter his complaints, he never really meant it. He was more doing it for the sake of it. It was like he enjoyed it, but thought letting her know that would be just too easy. If Nora wanted, she could follow him around all day and pester him, and he would accept it with just a bit of light-hearted grumbling.

He treated her something like one would a younger sibling, if you asked Ren. Always willing to indulge them, but never willing to let them know that outright.

So was it really any surprise that Nora had come rather close to going off on Team CRDL last night? If she had blown her top then Ren would've had to go through quite a bit to restrain her. Thankfully letting her know that Jaune wouldn't approve had calmed her down, otherwise that entire incident would have been blown far out of proportion.

After a few moments of comfortable silence, something of an oddity for Ren considering his association with quite possibly the loudest individual in Beacon, Pyrrha spoke again. "Ren, would you care for a game of chess?" One of the things Jaune had picked up on his little shopping spree earlier in the week had been a few board games. Among them being a simple chess set that had yet to see any use.

Humming, Ren closed his magazine. "That sounds wonderful, actually." He hadn't played a game in quite some time seeing as how Nora wasn't fond of it. She had eventually given up on following the rules of the game entirely and had just made up new ones as they went along, until the game wasn't even chess anymore.

She had actually typed up a rulebook for her own version on her scroll. It was honestly fairly entertaining playing under the whimsical structure she had thrown together, but he did rather enjoy playing an actual game of chess here and there.

So with a small smirk, he laid the magazine on his bed and quickly pulled the boardgame stash from beneath it.

They had, due to a lack of any real storage space, resorted to designating specific beds for those purposes. Ren had the boardgames under his bed, which was in the middle of the room, next to Nora's.

Jaune himself had a decently sized cooler stuffed under his bed, which he took great effort to keep cold. The inside had been coated with several inches of ice last Ren had checked, and he doubted it had melted much at all in the relatively short time Jaune was gone.

The benefits of Aura-empowered ice, he supposed. It melted, but much slower than normal. Just another thing that their leader's Semblance did.

Pushing that from his mind, the dark haired teen grabbed the chess set and pushed the remaining board games, and there were quite a few of them for that matter, back beneath his bed. "Which color would you like to play?"

"White." Pyrrha replied cheerfully, having cleared a space on her bed for them to play.

Unpacking the pieces from the unopened set, Ren couldn't help the upward tilt of his lips. Team JNPR was becoming one of the best things that had happened to Nora and him in quite some time.

The next four years at Beacon were something that Lie Ren could honestly say he was looking forward to.

* * *

Up on the rooftop, which was now coated in a few inches of snow, Nora and Jaune were seated on the ledge of the roof, looking out over the campus. In the snow on the rooftop there were several snow angels, a snow-man had been built using icy props in place of a legitimate hat or pipe, complete with an icicle nose, and several indents in the snow indicated a handful of the white stuff being scooped up for a snowball.

The remnants of said snowballs were visible on Jaune and Nora as white powder and damp spots on their clothing, though the two were both quite pleased with their handiwork.

"Jauney, have I told you that your powers are _totally_ like the best thing ever?" It was just so amazing to have a snow day on command. Nora didn't think that would ever get old. They had a snowball fight, built snowmen, and made snow angels... despite the fact that it hadn't snowed in Vale for months.

And watching him actually practice with it, creating spines of ice as fast as he could and attacking targets he himself had spawned out of ice? That was something else. He really rapid-fired those bad-boys when he wanted to, but it did clearly take a bit out of him.

Then there had been the wind stuff. He would use his ability to get himself as high in the air as he could, and then use it again to slow his descent as much as possible.

They'd timed it. He could get up to fifty feet in the air with his Semblance, and it'd take him almost thirty seconds to hit the ground again from that height if he actively tried to keep himself aloft.

Altogether, his ability was just plain awesome. No two ways about it.

Jaune smiled back at her, hair lightly dusted with snow from an earlier hit Nora had landed. "Glad you enjoy it as much as I do." After gaining the ability to make himself a winter wonderland whenever he wanted, even in the middle of the warmer seasons, the Arc teen had found a new appreciation for snow. The fact that he didn't feel cold the same way he used to probably helped this as well, though.

Because, really, not having to wear mittens was awesome. Those abominations always felt weird on his hands and he hated them.

Almost as much as he loathed actually wearing shoes. Since he'd ditched them in favor of going barefoot to help use his Semblance to it's fullest potential, the usefulness of footwear had disappeared... making them nothing more than an uncomfortable annoyance.

Stupid Beacon uniform. That was the one thing he didn't like about it, the rest of the outfit was pretty snazzy honestly.

After a moment of silence, Jaune realized something was wrong because Nora was nearby and a moment of silence actually passed. "Something up, Nora?" He asked, seeing her space out for a moment.

The girl blinked, looking back to him with a slight downward tilt to her lips. "Sorry, Jauney. Just thinkin'... if you're going out to the city a lot, those guys might try and get you again." Team CRDL wasn't exactly the top of the class, but they weren't total pushovers. And four on one left them with really good odds in a fight. Biting her lower lip, Nora struggled briefly with her words before deciding to just say it. "I don't wanna be clingy or anything, but can I come with you next time you go out like that?"

Jaune himself just gave her a sort of sheepish look. "Sorry for worrying you. That was kind of my own fault for going overboard on Winchester in the cafeteria." He'd been a bit too harsh there. Cardin had legitimately believed that he was willing to cripple him, and while that had probably passed to some degree judging by the fact that the teen had been willing to confront him that very night, it did still seem a bit much.

"No!" Nora cut in vehemently, glaring at him with her turquoise eyes. "That was Cardin's fault for starting it in the first place. He completely deserved what he got!" She hadn't ever been picked on directly like that, because Nora Valkyrie had never been the kind of girl to just take abuse without dishing it back out tenfold... but the whispers behind her back or across the room didn't always go unheard. And there were times that it hurt, but she never let it show.

Some of it was just people thinking she was weird. And that was okay; she was weird. Nora knew that quite plainly, weird was just another word for awesome.

But some of it was hurtful stuff. The kind of thing that made her wish she wasn't so different, that she fit in just a bit more. Nora hated feeling like that, because if you weren't comfortable being yourself then what was the point?

And then Cardin was harassing someone over their race. That was even worse, because people can change over time, but no matter what you did you would still be a Faunus. And making someone uncomfortable with the thing they were born with, the thing they had no choice in whatsoever, like it was their fault and they should be ashamed? That wasn't right.

Still rather heated, Nora hardly noticed the hand on her scalp until her partner began lightly rubbing her hair. Blinking again in surprise, Nora gave the teen a questioning glance.

A warm smile found it's way to Jaune's face. "Thanks, Nora. You can definitely come along next time I head to town, so can the others if they want. And if Cardin and his team show up to start things, we'll break their legs together; how does that sound?"

Nora's eyes lit up. "Amaaaaaaazing!" She clapped happily, giving him a bright grin.

Vaguely realizing that his hand was on her head, Jaune sheepishly pulled back. Seeing the curious look, he elaborated. "Force of habit. I kind of got into the habit of doing that to my sisters, and lately it's just sort of showing up." Mainly on Ruby because she practically melted when he did it, and that was partially funny and partially adorable... but he'd kind of gotten the urge all of a sudden when Nora had been so insistent that he hadn't done anything wrong.

"Oh, that's okay. I don't mind it I guess. What was it like growing up? Ren is the closest thing I've got to a sibling." Or any family at all, actually.

Jaune shrugged. "It was kind of hectic I guess. I'm the only boy so it was a real pain sometimes, but I love my sisters." All seven of them. "I guess I was never lonely, so that's a plus."

Nora nodded. "Sounds nice. Me and Renny are orphans, so we kind of made due with each other." She did kind of wish that she had grown up with siblings, though she wouldn't trade her time with Ren as her best friend for the world. It was just something she had always wondered about.

"If that's the case, you may as well just use my family." This drew a weird look from her, making him laugh a bit. "I've got seven sisters and a full set of parents, Nora. Plenty of Arc's to go around, one of these days I'll introduce you all and you can have all the siblings you'll ever need." Or want, for that matter. Much as Jaune loved his sisters, they took a toll on him sometimes. Any more of them may have been asking too much for his poor sanity.

In response to that, Nora began to laugh loudly. "That'd be great! Say, you think any of them like sloths?"

"Are they cute and cuddly?"

"Well of course they are, they're sloths!"

"Then chances are they probably like them."

"Awesome!"

With that said, Nora threw one arm over the Arc teen's shoulder and pulled him into a one-armed hug. "Thanks a bunch, Jauney; I'm really glad you're the partner I ended up with." Much like her views on growing up with siblings, Nora did consider that maybe being partner with Ren would have been nice... but she wouldn't trade the time spent with Jaune as her partner. She wouldn't go back and change it if she could, because things all worked out even better this way.

She still had Ren, but now she had Jaune too. So Ren got more time to do his own stuff, and he even got Pyrrha who was into a lot of the same stuff as him.

And that was great, because Nora liked Pyrrha too. She was smart, strong, and nice. She'd never said anything about how hyper Nora knew she could be, even if it annoyed her at times.

Team JNPR was quickly becoming the thing that she and Ren had been looking for, a place where they fit in despite their quirks.

And with that in mind, Nora promptly ruined the touching moment by yelling "TIMBER!" and tugging Jaune back into the snow that he'd made for them to play in earlier, drawing a surprised squawk from her partner at the sudden attack on his person.

"Damn it, Nora! We were having a moment!" Jaune griped, quickly rolling to avoid the immediate follow-up Nora had planned, namely pushing a handful of snow in his face. As he landed in a crouch, he gathered two snowballs in his hands for defense.

Nora herself had a pair as well, and the two were now staring one another down on the rooftop, with only the lighting of the shattered moon illuminating them in their glorious standoff.

"It _was_ a moment, Jauney." Nora chided with a grin. "And moments end really fast. Now we're having a snowball fight." With that said, she launched her pair of snowballs right at him.

Jaune dodged, of course, well versed in the ancient art of throwing snow at people. Landing from the sudden roll with a smirk, he launched one of the frozen spheres at Nora in response.

Her dodge was predicted, of course, and during the course of it he launched his second snowball.

In the middle of avoiding the first, Nora realized the second snowball had been thrown where she would end up, rather than where she was. In the middle of a leap to the side, she tucked into a roll and went just barely below the ball of snow, quickly straightening herself and gathering more ammunition.

Jaune had done much the same, retreating behind the snowman they had built prior. "Jauney! No hostages!" Nora called out in faux outrage. "Face me like a man, fearless leader!"

Realizing her play, Jaune merely released a villainous cackle in reply. "Hah! As if I'd be foolish enough to give up a valuable resource! Make your choice, Pancake Queen! Me, or our fine frozen friend?"

"You fiend!" She shouted, gathering more and more snow into a particularly large snowball. "You'll pay for your treachery, King of Cold!"

"As if you could defeat me!" With that said, Jaune leaped out from behind the snowman... with ten snowballs levitating behind him. "Feel my wrath!"

Nora squeaked in surprise at that. "Jauney that's _so_ cheating!" She shrieked, dashing quickly with her monster-snowball in hands, kicking up swaths of the white stuff in her flight and barely avoiding the rapid-fire shots of snowballs coming from her partner.

After dodging the barrage of snowballs, Nora reared back and lobbed her head-sized snowball at Jaune full strength.

Which, for Nora... was a lot.

Jaune hadn't exactly been prepared for a snowball as impractically large as that to fly towards him so fast. "Holy-!" He had enough time to shout, before being positively _blasted_ by the snowball as it crashed into his face, sending him to the ground in a heap. Before he could get back up, a weight settled on his stomach. Sputtering snow, he managed to shake the white stuff clear of his eyes in time to see an incredibly smug Nora straddling him.

With two large handfuls of snow that she promptly dropped on his face, drawing more spluttering from him.

"I win~!" She sang, victorious in their little bout. "As spoils of war, I'll have you make us all more popsicles!"

Under the snow, Jaune couldn't help but laugh even as he played his role. "Curses, bested once again! One day, Pancake Queen, I will be the one to come out on top!"

"Isn't that what you've got those girls in Vale for?" The girl asked, a gleam in her eyes as she smirked down at him.

Eyes shooting wide, Jaune began stumbling over his words at the insinuation. "W-Wait, what? Nora we didn't do anything like that!" He was blushing, damn it. She wasn't ever going to let him live this down.

Especially because she'd just snapped a picture of his reaction on her scroll.

"Damn it Nora, you shouldn't just say stuff like that! What if someone heard and got the wrong idea?" Like Ruby or Yang. That would be a _fun_ conversation to have with the younger girl, and Yang? There was absolutely no way she would ever stop ribbing him over it, probably something about how her rampage on the club got him the chance to be their knight in shining armor.

The carrot-top giggled at him, before she rolled off into the snow next to him. "Or is it the _right_ idea, Jauney? That girl didn't look like she was wearing much."

Grumbling, he replied. "She was wearing a nightgown, Nora."

"And her sister...?" The girl pushed, amused.

"So was she!" Jaune groaned, hands over his face.

Unable to hold it anymore, Nora laughed loudly. "Sorry Jauney, I'm just messing with you. That girl _was_ pretty, though; you're saying you never even thought of it?"

He twitched. "... I can't say I haven't _thought_ about it..." The Arc teen admitted after a moment.

"I might just get jealous if they steal my partner from me, though." She mumbled after a bit. "You and Renny are the only ones who can put up with me all the time, you know."

"And poor Ren needs his break every so often." Jaune chuckled, moving to pull the girl into a one-armed hug like what she'd done earlier. "Don't worry, Nora. Melanie and Miltiades are good friends of mine, but so are you guys. Ren and Pyrrha are my team, and you're my partner. I'm not going to just forget about you no matter what else I've got going on."

Allowing him the contact without any protest, Nora hummed quietly to herself. "Thanks again, Jaune."

"No problem Nora." He replied, glancing at the moon in the sky again. "You know, we should probably head back soon, before Pyrrha and Ren get any ideas."

Nora snorted in response. "Let'm. I don't wanna get up yet. You're not cold, are ya'?"

"I'm _always_ cold, Nora. It just doesn't bother me."

"Good. Then just let me lay here a little bit longer, oh partner of mine."

Even though he rolled his eyes in exasperation, Jaune couldn't keep the smile off his face. "Whatever you say."

And so the two of them just stayed there, laying in the snow on the rooftop and gazing up at the night sky, dominated by the shattered moon and scattered with an uncountable number of stars, as they idly bantered back and forth.

* * *

And here we have it folks, chapter ten in all of it's glory. Character interaction galore!

For those of us wanting something interesting to happen, expect that within the next few chapters. I've got some plans here and there for stuff to happen.

But for now. Pyrrha and Ren bond, Nora and Jaune do the same, Blake has a conversation with him because she just gotta know what makes our favorite snowflake tick, and Roman and Neo plot their plots and plan their plans.


	11. Chapter 11

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays and Happy New Years and all of that good stuff, people. I'm back with a chapter I was _supposed_ to be releasing on the 25th exactly, just to be cute, but I mucked it up and didn't manage it. This chap has been sitting near complete for about five days, basically just needing finishing touches.

I've touched it. Oh boy have I touched this fic. And speaking of people touching the fic, good ol' Kegi Springfield just so happened to make some art for this fic; I've tossed that up as the title pic. Thanks a bunch my dude.

Further, another fellow by the name of Racellos on Deviantart tossed something together too; it's an emblem for Frigus Jaune, which is pretty nice; he hit the nail on the head in my opinion, it looks great.

Disclaimer; I don't own RWBY. Hey, who wants to watch a ship sink?

* * *

Classes were back in session again for the students of Beacon Academy, and after the rather hectic events over the course of his time off Jaune Arc wasn't exactly disappointed by that.

Jaune and Nora had been subject to brief scrutiny from their teammates after arriving back in their dormroom, something they had merely waved off with a pair of smiles.

The next morning found Nora conked out in his bed rather than Ren's... or her own for that matter.

Pyrrha had given them a curious look, but Ren merely rolled his eyes at it as though he was used to it. And he probably was, honestly. Nora was the kind of person who just did whatever she felt like at any given time.

Over the next few days, Team CRDL had ended up pretty much keeping to themselves rather than harassing him. So that was good, and further Cardin himself had kept his shit to himself.

At the moment, they were in Oobleck's class. Currently he was on a rant about the Faunus War, darting about the classroom with a thermos that was probably filled with coffee. Or some kind of energy supplement maybe? Some secret brew to give him his powers?

... probably coffee. Jaune really hoped it was coffee.

"Yes, so prior to the Faunus Rights Revolution, more popularly referred to as the Faunus War, humankind was quite, quite adamant on centralizing the Faunus population in Menagerie." Doctor Oobleck intoned, darting behind his desk and vaguely gesturing at the board behind him.

The man was, per the norm, his usual state of disheveled professionalism. A white shirt and green slacks, a yellow tie, his reflective spectacles upon his face.

But the tie was loose, the shirt was untucked on one side, and he was toting around the lid of his thermos and drinking at each pause in his speech, which was every ten seconds or so roughly.

Jaune himself was impressed the man could even remember what the lesson was meant to be about with the positively _horrifying_ amount of clutter on his desk, and that was without mentioning the board itself being covered in paper after paper with threads linking one to the next, covering over the landmasses of the map.

Next to him, Nora was fighting to remain awake. Ren and Pyrrha were settled in the seats next over, the pink-eyed teen between Nora and his own partner.

If Jaune didn't know any better, he would think that the other boy actually was sleeping. But his eyes were open, and he wasn't reclining or leaning on his hands in any way, instead sitting straight up and gazing forward.

But after a few moments of inspecting him subtly, he came to the conclusion that Ren had somehow mastered the art of sleeping with his eyes open... only to be proven wrong immediately as the teen lightly poked Nora's flank, which drew her back to wakefulness.

Huh. That was weird. Judging by Pyrrha's amused expression she thought much the same.

"Now! While this may feel like ancient history to many of you, it is imperative to remember that these are relatively recent events!" Oobleck continued on, darting about the room so quickly that it didn't even look like his legs were moving; he seemed to almost slide from place to place. "Why, the repercussions of the uprising can still be felt today!"

Pausing, the man looked over the assembled class for a moment. "Have any among you been subjugated or discriminated against due to your Faunus heritage?"

At that question, a sort of uncomfortable silence hung in the air. A few scattered Faunus lifted their hands, many shyly, as though afraid to admit it.

Velvet was one of them, almost shivering as she slowly lifted her hand into the air just above her head, like she was afraid it would simply be slapped back down.

That brought a low growl to Jaune's throat as he pointedly refrained from turning his glare on Winchester, seated just a row above him.

Oobleck was similarly irritated to see such a majority of his Faunus students had suffered discrimination. "Dreadful, simply dreadful..." He rattled off, darting about once more. "This is precisely the kind of ignorance that breeds violence." The man took a deeper gulp of his coffee, as though calming himself. "I mean, I mean, I mean just look at the White Fang! A peaceful protest group in the wake of the Faunus war became what we know them as today almost entirely due to such mistreatment!"

After a pause that lasted only a heartbeat, Oobleck shifted gears to a new, but still related, topic. "Now! Can any of you young scholars tell me what many theorists believe to be the turning point of the third year in the war?" The good doctor asked, glancing among the students.

Unsurprisingly, Snow Angel was the first to reply. She stood from her seat, hand held high and a wide smile on her face. "That would be the battle at Fort Castle." Weiss exclaimed confidently, the girl studious to a degree that was near unmatched by any other student in Beacon.

Jaune sure knew he didn't spend as much time studying as she did, and realistically speaking he didn't exactly know all the key points of the war either. The Battle of Fort Castle was something he was sort of aware of, as it was a major loss for humanity against the Faunus, but he didn't know _exactly_ how it went down.

"Precisely!" Oobleck complimented animatedly, glad to see that he was actually getting a response from his students rather than a listless group of stares. It would be a shame if he merely explained things without including them at all. Interaction was a key aspect to teaching, and something he did often come to argue with Peter over as his colleague was known for longwinded lessons with very little inclusion from his class, with exception to demonstrations that he did provide on a semi-frequent basis which asked for a volunteer. "And can someone tell me what advantage the Faunus had over General Lagune's forces?"

It was around this time that Jaune felt something flick into the back of his head. "Hey!" He grumbled out, head snapping up instinctively from the light impact.

Did someone just chuck a paperwad at him? Probably Cardin. The asshole.

And then all of a sudden Oobleck was before him, a wide grin on his lips.

"Ah, Mr. Arc! How pleasant to see your participation, excellent, most excellent. Now, could you give us the answer, please?" The hyper-mobile man rattled out, looking at him expectantly.

It was around this time that Jaune realized he didn't exactly know which advantage the Faunus had over Lagune's forces at all.

Was Fort Castle more defensible than another base in that war, was there some terrain aspect that the general hadn't taken into account? Did he walk into a trap, attacking only to find that it was exactly what they wanted?

Or was it a difference in training? Jaune wasn't entirely sure, but he felt that the human side in the war would have better trained men and better equipment in many cases, due to the discrimination that even ignited the war in the first place.

Gah, he really had no idea! There was just way too much that _could_ have been the answer, he had no way to narrow it down even... wait why was Blake looking at him and pointing at her eyes? Uh... what exactly did that mean?

Oobleck was eyeing him with some scrutiny now, and Jaune figured he was pretty well out of time. "Uh, it was because the Faunus saw them coming, right?" He guessed, somewhat confident in the answer based off of what Blake was apparently trying to convey.

Judging by her eyeroll and the "more or less" gesture, he didn't completely muck it up.

"Partially correct, Mr. Arc." Oobleck admitted, backing away. "Can anyone else tell me why the Faunus _were_ aware of the coming attack, and thus able to counter it? Mr. Winchester, your thoughts?"

"One of the guard-dogs probably went to mark a tree and smelled them coming, so they went back and warned the rest of the zoo." Cardin threw out haphazardly, uncaring of the real truth of the matter.

Oobleck frowned, quite displeased by the racial slur of an answer.

"You're not a very open minded individual, are you?" Pyrrha questioned, turning to regard the larger teen with an even look.

Cardin snorted. "You got a problem?"

"No, I've got the answer; night vision. Many Faunus are known to possess near perfect vision in the dark, which led to the failure of Lagune's night ambush on Fort Castle." The Invincible Girl clearly wasn't just a champion fighter, but also a top student.

Blake picked up from there. "The general was inexperienced and made the mistake of attempting to attack the Faunus in their sleep. His mistake cost him that battle as his much larger army was routed, the general himself captured." Turning a rather smug look towards Cardin, she continued. "Maybe if he'd paid attention in class, we wouldn't remember him as a failure... those of us who even bother to remember him, that is." Her piece said, the girl happily turned back to the front of the class as the other teen stood up angrily.

"Now, now, please sit down Mr. Winchester." Oobleck spoke, his voice allowing no argument. "You'll be seeing me after class for additional reading due to your lack of knowledge on the subject matter."

The brunette growled at that, but said no more as he slunk back into his seat.

"Now, moving on!"

* * *

Later that week, Jaune made good on his promise to Nora.

Another awful airship ride later left the pair of them in Vale.

Nora was humming a happy little tune, glad that she wouldn't need to worry about their leader being ambushed by anyone without her there to break their legs for it.

Jaune himself was just recovering from the airship ride, shaking his head. "Man, I hate getting sick on those things... there has got to be some better way to do this."

Shrugging helplessly, Nora merely gave him a pat on the shoulder. "There, there...?" She mumbled, attempting to comfort her leader in his time of need.

That earned her an amused snort from the boy. "I'm better now. It'll be a bit of a trip to The Club from here, though." And he had never been so thankful that his motion sickness didn't get set off on buses.

"Oh, I just can't wait to meet your girlfriends, Jauney!" The girl giggled at the dull look this declaration earned her. "I meant to say your friends who are girls, of course."

Rolling his eyes at that, Jaune merely began walking, gesturing over his shoulder for her to follow.

Nora did so happily, hands thrown up behind her head as she walked and humming that same cheery tune.

"So just to be clear here, Nora..." Jaune began after a few moments of walking. "Don't take this as me not trusting you, but please don't cause any problems in there." He threw his hands up at the slightly hurt look. "Look, look, I'm not saying this because it's you! It's just that Yang literally tore the place apart last time she was there, and... well, you can be kind of rowdy." And frankly, she was pretty enough that someone may try and grope her on the dance floor. And if Nora reacted to that in any way he could expect of her, then it'd end poorly.

She frowned, but didn't argue that point. "I'm not gonna do anything bad, Jauney." Nora mumbled. "I just wanna meet your friends, and I don't want you getting attacked again without someone there to help." By this point they sort of figured CRDL had just given up, water under the bridge as Ren had put it. But that wasn't something she wanted to put to chance, because their fearless leader was _not_ about to get hurt because they weren't around.

If Cardin and his goons tried again and they _actually_ hurt Jaune, Nora knew that she would be going on a warpath; and the remaining members of the team probably wouldn't stop her.

"Sorry if I made it seem like that, Nora." Jaune apologized, giving her a one-armed hug. "I'm just a little nervous, I guess. I don't mean to make it seem like I don't trust you." Considering the strange things that had gone on around The Club recently he did kind of have a reason for his nervousness, he supposed, but at the same time he didn't want to seem like he was _expecting_ Nora to cause a scene... but someone could provoke her, and that could spiral out of control.

If anyone _did_ try and grope her or otherwise provoke her to take action, Jaune would gladly allow her to take her grievances out on them... so long as she got out of the building first.

A little smile came to her face. "Probably just scared I'm gonna embarrass you in front of your girlfriends, Jauney."

"Honestly it's more the other way around..." Jaune admitted, pointedly ignoring her referring to the twins as his girlfriends. "Melanie has a penchant for saying things people will take the wrong way."

"... or the right way." Nora chimed in with a giggle, ignoring the put-off look he gave her. "We're not lettin' you live that down, fearless leader; no way, no how." He was in a room with a pair of scantily clad twins while he himself was shirtless.

Really, how could they _not_ heckle him for it?

Time passed fairly quickly, the partners merely conversing with one another on their way to the bus stop. After a short bus ride, they were let off at a stop somewhat close to where The Club was.

It wasn't that close, really, but that was kind of because Junior's place was right on the edge of the rough side of Vale. Bus stops weren't exactly safe places over in that area.

Jaune had been somewhat worried while passing through the rougher part of town that someone may try something, but apparently not. Maybe the weapon at Nora's back in addition to the moderately armored look the two of them had going on made people figure out they were out of their league? Or maybe he'd just made an impression over his trips, because he'd knocked around quite a few street toughs by this point.

Either way, they weren't accosted as the pair of them made their way into The Club.

As per the norm, the blazing music took Jaune a second to acclimate to. It was always so loud when you first walked in, but gradually you got used to it.

Nora seemed undeterred one way or another, the girl immediately bobbing her head to the music. "Say, Jauney? Where are your friends at?" She knew what they looked like, vaguely, seeing as the two of them were twins and she'd seen one of their faces briefly over the scroll. But she didn't see them at a glance.

Jaune took a moment to look around, brow furrowing slightly as he didn't catch them immediately either. "Huh, that's weird... Oh, there they are." They were off to the side near the back of the club, and they seemed to be in the middle of a rather intent discussion between one another while occasionally nodding their heads towards something pointedly.

... Weird. With that in mind, he figured he would give them a minute to sort it out... but then they started playing rock-paper-scissors and he couldn't help but wonder just what in the world those two were doing.

Nudging Nora, he began to take long, confident strides across the floor; by this point he'd become something of a familiar face in the club, and a few of the regulars gave him some waves and greetings as he passed. His little show the day before Yang trashed the place wasn't easily forgotten, and the rumor had spread that he'd beaten the girl who came to tear the place apart.

So altogether he had a bit of a fan base here, which was neat. Nora merely quirked a brow curiously at that, before going along with the amiable mood and waving back at anyone who did offer a greeting. "Wow, Jauney, you're popular!"

He chuckled. "I come here often, so I guess people know me." He wasn't easy to miss, honestly. Tall, white, and scraggly wasn't an inaccurate description for him.

After another moment of walking through the crowd, he and Nora came upon Melanie and Miltia after their final game of the set. A loss for Melanie, if he had to assume based upon the huff she was in.

That lasted until she spotted him. "Snowflake! Perfect timing." Melanie began, eagerly strolling up to him and wrapping an arm around his. "And hey there Carrot-top, glad to see one of our boy's friends could make it."

Nora offered a thumbs-up. "Of course. What kind of partner wouldn't make it a priority to meet up with Jauney's girlfriends? Gotta make sure he's treating you right!" Her already wide grin only got bigger at the dry look this pulled from the teen in question.

Melanie gave a snort of amusement, while Miltiades blushed lightly, offering a short nod in greeting to Nora before speaking. "Ahem... Sister, I believe we had something to take care of?" The red-clad twin hinted rather blatantly, nodding her head off to the side. "As glad as I am to see Jaune, we do have a job to do."

Turning towards where she was motioning, partially due to the wince from the girl on his arm, Jaune was greeted with the bizarre sight of a girl staring out over the dance floor a little ways away.

She was an orangette like Nora, that same shade almost, but her hair had quite a bit more curl to it and a large pink ribbon made any similarity even more distant. Her eyes were a bright green, and her pale skin and freckles were apparent even from this distance.

Though Jaune hardly had room to talk about pale, considering his own complexion.

She wore an old-fashioned blouse with short feminine overalls, as well as a black and green collar with a matching pair of stockings. Altogether, Jaune thought she had a rather cute look to her; innocent, almost, much the same way that he'd felt upon looking at Ruby.

At the moment, she was gazing out over the dance floor with a tilt to her head, eyes wide and taking in the movements of the dancers as though nothing else mattered.

Huh. What were Melanie and Miltia so worried about? "So... uh... what's up?" He asked the question, jerking his head towards the girl.

"Weird ginger has been staring out at the floor for the last ten minutes..." Melanie began.

Miltia offered a brief chiding look at the statement, but didn't contest it as she picked up. "She hasn't blinked for that entire time from what I can tell. She hasn't moved. It's... really weird." The red-clad twin admitted.

"So we were gonna figure out who was going to go talk to her, cuz' she's creeping everyone who notices her out."

"And you lost, sister, so you were the one who was going to go do that." Miltiades pointed out dryly, fully aware of just where her sister was planning to take this line of thought.

"But it'd be great if you could go handle that, Snowball; we'll stick here and get to know your partner a bit more. It'll be a great chance for us to get along." Melanie pointedly pressed herself closer to him, making good use of her assets in a bid to get Jaune to take over the unpleasant interaction.

She didn't even have to do it, though. Jaune was willing to just because it was a request from a friend.

... he did kind of appreciate the effort, though. Rolling his eyes and pulling away from the dark haired girl, he shrugged. "Sure thing. I'll go talk with her, I guess; hopefully it doesn't end up with the whole club in shambles." If something did happen to provoke hostilities, he had the twins themselves as backup.

But he also had a Nora. And one shouldn't underestimate the power of a Nora. Or the destructive capabilities, for that matter.

So he really hoped this went smoothly, because if Nora ended up breaking her promise to him in order to _help_ him he was going to feel like a total ass. "Right, Nora. This is Melanie; you met her on the scroll-call." He nodded towards the girl, something that earned a playful wave from her. "And her sister is Miltia, she's the good one." This earned a pretty flush from her and an indignant "hey!" from her sister, who then merely pouted as he turned his gaze back to her, as if to ask "are you _really_ going to contest that?"

She didn't.

"Hiya! I'm Nora Valkyrie, Jauney's partner at Beacon and leg-breaker extraordinaire!" She rather quickly managed to scoop the two startled twins into a hug, throwing her arms around them and quickly squeezing them together. "And we're gonna have a great time getting to know each other; anyone have embarrassing stories about him?"

As both of the twins began to grin wickedly, Jaune groaned before giving them a warning look that they merely returned with rolling eyes.

Good. They knew at least not to bring up anything about his less-than-legal shenanigans, and he trusted them with that.

With that in mind, he quickly began to make his way towards the still-standing-still girl who really _hadn't_ moved at all.

Up until he managed to reach her little bubble, that is, as she immediately twisted her head to regard him with a surprised blink. "Salutations!" She greeted pleasantly, twisting the rest of her body to face him. "Your body temperature is distinctly low. Are you ill?"

Jaune blinked. "... Yeah, I know." He kind of radiated cold from him, yes, but it was... well, he at least _thought_ it wasn't so noticeable, but this girl picked it up immediately. Was everyone at Beacon just being polite? That was... kind of disconcerting. "It's a side-effect of my Semblance, I can control ice." Somehow this wasn't what he'd pictured the conversation starting with. "I'm not sick, though. Thanks for asking." It was rather nice of her to be so concerned from the get-go, even if it did bring up some other questions.

The girl nodded. "I'm glad to hear that! Sickness in such a public area would pose a high risk of spreading."

"Yeah, I don't think I would be out here if I was sick." Jaune admitted, briefly trying to recall the last time he'd actually _been_ sick in a way that didn't involve air-travel. "Anyway. What'cha looking at?"

"I'm fascinated by this place!" She replied gleefully, arms wide as she performed a brief twirl. "The sounds, the lights, the people! It's sensational!" Stopping mid twirl, the girl gave him another look before she seemed to realize something. "Oh! My name is Penny."

He chuckled at that. "Name's Jaune Arc; it's short, sweet, and the ladies love it."

"They do?" Penny questioned curiously, mulling it over in her head. "Jaune Arc." She repeated, as if testing the theory for herself. After a moment of apparently serious consideration, she nodded. "That is pleasant to say! I agree wholeheartedly!" The girl announced.

Jaune's chuckles went into full blown laughter at that. He managed to spot the twins being dragged over by Nora, the sisters seeming less enthused than the girl as they were brought over. "You're a real friend for playing along like that; I haven't heard that before." He'd heard a myriad of responses to his ice-breaker of a line, but this one took the cake. It was just something about the way she said it that tickled him.

Almost immediately, it was as if the whole place went silent.

It hadn't, of course, but upon looking into the wide, awed gaze of the girl before him, Jaune really couldn't tell if there was any other noise in the building other than his own steady breathing.

"Am..." She began slowly, as though unsure. "I _really_ your friend?"

Behind her, Jaune could see the twins had gotten close enough to hear, and were both frantically shaking their heads at that.

Nora, on the other hand, was eagerly nodding.

It wasn't even a question for Jaune. A wide smile slipped onto his face, an expression so warm looking in a mirror would melt him. "My mother always said that strangers are just friends you haven't met yet." He replied, lifting a hand to shake. "And we've gone through introductions already, you know." He couldn't help himself. That line didn't get nearly as much use as it deserved.

The girls behind Penny had their own reactions; Miltia was somewhat uncomfortable, but the blush on her cheeks was indicative of just what she thought of that whole scene. Melanie was altogether pouty at seeing the whole thing she had attempted to avoid, interacting with the weird girl, coming to bite her in the butt.

And Nora, bless her heart, was beaming.

But the real thing to notice was the absolutely blinding enthusiasm on Penny's face. "Oh, this is _sensational_!" She exclaimed, reaching forward to grasp his hand in hers for a hearty handshake. "I've made a friend! We can paint our nails, and do our hair, and talk about cute boys..." She paused for a moment, a light frown tugging at her lips as she released the hand. "Oh no, no, that's for _girl_ friends isn't it? What should I do with a _boy_ friend?" Apparently, this was a serious concern for her; she was suddenly quite troubled.

And it was around that time that Melanie's expression shifted from the huff she was in to something altogether more disturbing; a wicked smile that brought a shiver up Jaune's spine.

She sauntered up, and casually threw an arm over the now blinking girl's shoulder. "Don't worry, dear, Big Sister Melanie can teach you _all_ about boys." Her gaze drifted over to Jaune, who merely quirked a brow at her. "Isn't that right, Snowflake?"

After a moment to consider, Penny's eyes lit up again in excitement. " _Sensational_!" She declared, happily throwing her own arm over the white-clad girl's shoulder. "Are we also friends, now, Big Sister Melanie?"

"We're going to be _very_ good friends, I wager."

"... Oh no." Miltia mumbled, coming up behind the pair of them with Nora in tow. "Jaune, you've managed to create a monster..." She muttered, watching as her sister began whispering into the ginger girl's ear.

"How is this my fault?" He asked, indignant. Melanie had been the one to ask him to do this, and Miltia had _let_ her do it!

"It just is, Jauney; don't argue with your girlfriends." Nora replied with a breezy wave, throwing his protests out the window.

* * *

After that riveting discussion, which had consisted of him insisting that he wasn't at fault for anything and Nora merely waving it off without concern, the group was now settled around the bar.

It seemed like a trend; no matter what happened here, they'd always end up seated at the bar. Junior would just grunt and give them a nod, before returning to whatever work he had at hand. They'd fallen into something of a system, Jaune figured.

That was... nice. It was comfortable, that he fit in well enough for this to just happen every time. He felt accepted, like he wasn't just some wanderer going from place to place, never really getting to know anyone. Altogether, Jaune vastly preferred this to the year he'd spent on his own. This was a place he really did feel at home, perhaps even more so than he did at Beacon honestly.

Normally at least one of the twins would be invading his personal space, but today Melanie was more occupied with "teaching" Penny just how you would act with a boy friend... with Miltia's exasperated interjections causing the ginger girl even more confusion, as she was quickly being forced to decide who would be the better person to listen to.

Naturally, it would be Miltiades as she was easily the good one out of those two; Melanie would surely fill the girl's head will all sorts of strange things.

But unfortunately, Jaune wasn't going to involve himself and tell her that. Because, God help him, he thought it was funny just as much as Melanie did.

Did... did that make him a bad person? He just wasn't sure.

Regardless, that was what had lead to the situation at hand.

"Jauney, your girlfriends are weird." Nora piped up cheerfully, seated next to him as she regarded the twins and the other ginger of the group. "I like'm!"

Jaune had, by this point, decided that her referring to the twins as his girlfriends was going to be a thing he was unable to change. As such, he was just going with it now. "Yeah. They are pretty great, aren't they?"

The twins _were_ great. Both of them had their own individual qualities that he liked, but together they were a blast; Melanie always poking at Miltiades until she got a reaction from the girl, Miltia turning things on Melanie out of the blue, the both of them doing that really hot and simultaneously creepy sentence-finishing thing.

He was really glad to have met them. They were good friends.

"Of course it's not as great as our team, though. We're way weirder." Weird equaled cool in Nora's mind. "We got a celebrity, a ninja, me, and do I even need to explain why? Because I'm awesome, and then we have a..." She paused, eyeing him as though deep in though. "... popsicle maker!"

He couldn't restrain the snort at that. "Geeze, tell me how you really feel Nora!" Jaune laughed, feigning a heart wound again. "I think I'll feel that one tomorrow!"

The girl giggled in response.

As their laughter died down, Jaune noticed the twins and Penny had come over to them with a purpose.

"Right, so, Snowflake." Melanie piped up, grinning widely as she pulled the girl along. "Penny here is now perfectly armed with the knowledge of how to act around a boyfriend."

A sigh came from her sister, who slowly stepped up behind them. "And more appropriately I've managed to explain the differences between that and, like, a regular friend who just happens to be a boy." Or so she hoped, but the orange haired girl had absorbed both of their info-dumps rather readily. It was like she was some kind of child, eager for anything you could teach her.

Strange, that. The girl must have been super sheltered.

"Anyway!" Melanie interrupted, pushing the blinking girl forward. "Penny, dear, go ahead and do your thing."

"Affirmative, Big Sister Melanie!" Penny replied eagerly, moving forward to offer Jaune her hand. "Would you like to dance with me? It's my first time so please be gentle!"

Jaune, normally, would have blushed that. But he was just so stunned by the statement that it didn't quite register. It just came out of the blue.

Nora was cackling wildly at that statement, whereas Miltiades was palming her face and groaning in humiliation.

And Melanie, dear, sweet, manipulative, wicked Melanie... she was proud as she could be.

Deciding to just roll with it, Jaune accepted the hand with a roll of his eyes. "Sure thing. Try to keep up with me, I'll start off slowly." Damn it that didn't come out right at all and he regretted it the very moment he said it, especially with the bright blush that came to Miltia's cheeks and the resounding laughter of Nora immediately coming to his attention.

He ignored it pointedly, though. It would be worse if they realized he hadn't said that on purpose.

And with that, Melanie and Miltiades were left alone with Nora as the two of them made their way to the dance floor.

The atmosphere didn't change between them immediately or anything extreme, but it was notable that the special snowflake that gave them a reason to hang around eachother had left as the twins were seemingly struggling with what to even say.

"Sooo! When are you two gonna' make a move on Jauney?" Nora asked, leaning back on her bar stool and grinning at the twins.

Melanie gave a light tilt of her head. "I think we kind of did already." She admitted, nodding to her blushing sister. "Sneaking into bed with him would count, right?"

"Pfft." The Valkyrie replied, a coy smile on her lips. "As if. Just sneaking into bed is nothing. I did that already too."

"You're into him too?" The white-clad sister asked, one hand on her hip. "Our special Snowflake can't seem to go anywhere without attracting the ladies."

Off to the side, Miltia huffed but said nothing.

Shrugging, Nora twirled on her stool a few times. "Nah, I'm just like that." She replied airily. "Jauney makes a good teddy-bear and I figured I'd give Ren a break."

That got Miltia's hackles back down. "... so you just did that for no reason?" The dark haired girl asked, eyes narrowed. It seemed rather odd for something so intimate to just be... normal.

"Of course not. Like I said, Jauney is a good teddy-bear." Nora chuckled at the incredulous looks. "In case you haven't noticed yet, I'm pretty big on the whole physical contact thing!" Personal space may as well not exist in her book.

Having been manhandled by the ginger already, both twins had to concede that point. "Fair enough, I guess... but after all the _time_ I spent convincing Miltia to do that with me, you're coming in here and just invalidating it!" Melanie pouted, grabbing her blushing sister by the waist and pulling her close, rubbing her cheek against the other girl's shoulder. "She was _so_ embarrassed at the suggestion, the poor girl, and you're saying it was all for nothing?"

Miltiades growled, eyes narrowing and a red blush on her cheeks. "Melanie! Don't go telling people about that!" She protested, squirming in her sister's grasp.

Melanie used this as further evidence. "I mean just look at her face right now even at the mention of it! The poor, poor girl nearly had a heart attack when we got into his room. And when I suggested we get naked first I think it almost _killed_ her!"

It was at this point that her sister put an end to the conversation through a time-old method of shutting up your siblings; embarrassing anecdotes. "At least I can actually hold my alcohol, _sister_..." She hissed, face red as her dress and an evil glint coming to her eyes. The white clad twin stopped in her tracks. "Maybe I should, like, let our new friend here in on some of the things _you_ have said or done under the influence, hm?" As humiliating as this entire incident was, Miltiades did have worse to throw back at her sister. She and alcohol did not mix well whatsoever, and it had lead to some very interesting events.

Nora nodded eagerly, excited to know just what went on when Melanie was drunk.

"... Shutting up now, sister." Melanie relented, releasing the girl from her grasp and walking a respectful distance away.

"Aw, darn." Nora mumbled as she twirled in her seat, disappointed in not getting any fun stories out of the two girls, Nora caught sight of the dance floor and promptly stopped spinning. "Uh... wow." She mumbled, blinking at the spectacle that caught her eyes.

The twins both quirked their own brows, turning to regard the dancers. They were fairly certain this was going to involve Jaune's dancing drawing a crowd, but considering he had the awkward girl with him they _couldn't_ be going as crazy as he usually did.

Except... they were. The two of them blinked simultaneously.

"Melanie, where in that conversation did you give her a crash course on dancing?" Miltiades asked, absolutely floored by the sight before her eyes.

"... I didn't." Melanie replied, also unable to look away. "I expected them to be, like, all awkward and clumsy out there." That was not what was happening at all.

Instead of the awkward sight that Melanie and Miltiades had been expecting to see, with the ginger clumsily tripping around and their snowy haired knight guiding her through it indulgently as he tended to do, the girl was matching him move for move.

This was important, because matching Jaune Arc move for move on the dance floor was kind of a big deal around here.

So even as the two of them continued on, with the ginger girl perfectly copying Jaune's movements in time with the music, more and more of a crowd was drawn.

"Wow. I had no idea Jaune was that good at it." Nora chimed in, head tilted to the side as she watched. "Looket'm go!" And that Penny girl was right there with him.

Giggling, Miltia tossed her own two cents in. "Yes, Jaune tends to make a scene when he goes out there... I'm more surprised that girl is keeping up so well."

Melanie shrugged, shaking her head. "That's, like, the furthest thing from what I expected when I sent them out there." Now they were hand in hand out there, somehow keeping closely in sync with one another without any apparent issues.

That was weird. _Everything_ about that Penny girl was weird!

As with all things, though, eventually their dance came to an end. Jaune, after taking a grand bow with the girl, began chatting excitedly with her. She seemed to be embarrassed by something he said, looking away bashfully.

And then the two made their way back over, accepting high-fives and pats on the back as they went; Penny was notably startled at each one, but her face was the picture of cheer.

"So, Snowflake, just how the heck did the two of you pull that off?" Melanie asked as they came back into range, shooing away the few stragglers from the crowd who had followed. They backed off with a few boos at that, but she just rolled her eyes at them.

"I've got no idea!" He replied, grinning like a loon. "That was all Penny; it was like she copied everything right when I did it. It was awesome!"

Penny herself was smiling as well, though she looked a bit nervous. "I cannot take all of the credit! Friend Jaune was most excellent. I would have floundered without his example to follow." More so than they could possibly imagine.

"Excuse me." A girl's voice cut into the conversation.

Melanie sighed, prepared to ask yet another of Jaune's fans to leave them be, before a surprised squeak from Penny caught them off guard.

"Hello Ciel!" Penny spoke, preempting anything anyone else could say. "I was not aware you would be here."

The girl in question was taciturn, strict looking, and clad in a blue beret, a plain gray button-down shirt with an asymmetrical collar, a blue combat skirt, and fingerless, elbow-length black gloves with a wristwatch on her left hand. She had tanned skin, navy hair and blue eyes, and a mark on her forehead in the shape of an oval surrounded by four circles. "Ma'am. I've been asked to retrieve you." She glanced at the wristwatch, making note of the time. "As of three hours ago, as a matter of fact. This is _hardly_ where I expected to find you." The girl grimaced at the surroundings, clearly unimpressed.

Unsure of what exactly was going on, Jaune stepped in to sate his curiosity. "Uh, so you're a friend of Penny's? Nice to meet you, I'm Jaune Arc." He held out his hand to shake, refraining from using his tried and true ice-breaker as the girl before him seemed something like a miniature Goodwitch.

As though to further that image, she merely gave him a dull look in response to his offered hand. "Jaune Arc. Leader of Team JNPR of Beacon Academy..." She again looked around, before returning her gaze to his outstretched hand. "Status; _questionable_." Waiting another moment for the teen to lower his hand, she spoke again. "I have come to collect Ms. Polendina per orders of my superior officer."

The rather monotone way she said this, and the seeming insult to Jaune, irritated three of the assembled girls. Seeing that, Penny quickly stepped in. "I am sorry for this, Ciel! I must have lost track of time. Please, let's go back."

Ciel nodded. "Very well. Please come along." And with that, she turned and began to walk away, clearly expecting that Penny would be right behind her.

The ginger girl turned back to her new friends and offered an apologetic wave, before quickly following behind the dark haired teen who had arrived to collect her.

Which left Jaune, Nora, and the twins.

Jaune blinked. "Well. That was... weird." What was that even about?

"Glad that's over." Nora chimed in. "I was about five seconds from introducing her to Magnhild."

A wince came from the white haired teen at that. "Come on, Nora, it wasn't that bad." He chuckled.

"I dunno what she meant by _questionable_ , Snowflake, but the way she said it sure didn't sound pleasant." Melanie chimed in, rather offended herself. The uptight bitch seemed flat out repulsed by even being in the damn club.

Miltia hummed in agreement, her own feathers ruffled by this as well. "It seemed like her opinion of you went down the moment she met you, Jaune. Just because you're here, if I had to guess." How rude. On the surface, they were running a perfectly respectable business... and the less said about what went on under the surface, the better, as it would destroy _that_ argument in a second.

But this was their home, damn it. Miltia knew they didn't exactly play by the rules, and they did things that weren't quite morally sound... but it was just how these things went.

If the two of _them_ hadn't caught Junior's attention, there would be other people standing in their position. And then who knows where _they_ would be, students of Beacon like Melanie had pitched so long ago? Or would they just be wandering around scraping out a living somewhere else?

Yeah, no thanks. Miltiades was content with her place in life, even if it wasn't the cleanest background. They were alive and comfortable, and she could get her good karma in her day-to-day life to try and make up for all the crap they'd done and would continue to do.

Jaune sighed. "Yeah... I'm not sure what that was about either. Who the heck was that girl? And who is Penny that she has some babysitter calling her ma'am?" He wondered aloud, shaking his head.

Seeing a collective of shrugs, Jaune just threw his own shrug in for good measure. "Well, whatever; she's gone. What were you all talkin' about while we were gone, anything important?"

Seeing Melanie's face light up at that, Miltiades glaring her back into submission with the fiercest look he'd seen on her to date, and Nora restraining wild snorts of laughter, Jaune wisely decided that he was going to drop that subject.

Women were weird.

* * *

"There, there, Jauney..." Nora mumbled, gently rubbing her hand up and down the lower back of her partner. "Just let it all out." In the middle of the walkway from the landing pads to Beacon, the Valkyrie stood beside the white haired teen as he shook in discomfort, the two of them illuminated in the dark by the lights surrounding the walkway.

Leaning over the wastebin, Jaune finally stopped shaking. His breathing was heavy, but he was slowly getting it back under control. "... I hate my life."

"Now, now, Jauney, that's not true at all." Nora replied soothingly, still consoling her poor leader. "You don't mean that."

A sigh came from the white haired teen. "... damn it, you're right." He grumbled petulantly, grimacing as he finally got himself back under control. The teen released a second, much longer sigh. "Motion sickness sucks. And damn it again, because this was my own fault." The twins had ordered Mistrali takeout for the lot of them and they'd enjoyed a meal together before leaving, as the two of them were taking their lunch break so to speak.

Apparently Junior had been the one to foot the bill, even though the big man wasn't aware of it. Jaune felt a bit guilty about that, but his attempt to pay back his own meal had been met with resistance.

This was likely karma for him giving up on that so easily...

No, actually, it was more his own stupidity for eating right before he got on one of those flying metal deathtraps. "Uhg... I'm better now." He groaned out, finally raising up from the waste basket he had been hurling into. "... got a mint?" Jaune asked weakly, trying to make a joke.

A moment later he started as something was flicked into his mouth. Nearly swallowing it in surprise, Jaune managed to catch himself after a moment of fumbling. He blinked.

"Oh." The leader of Team JNPR blinked, working the small object around with his tongue. "Thanks." Apparently she did have a mint.

"No problem, Jauney. Feeling better?" Nora asked, a little smirk on her lips as she cocked her head to the side, turquoise eyes sparkling in amusement.

He nodded. "Yeah, much better." Reaching up to run a hand through his snowy white hair, the boy took a deep breath and enjoyed the tingling sensation the air brought to his tongue. "Much, much better. Thanks a bunch, Nora. You're a life saver."

"Glad to help." She replied, quickly turning on her heel with her hands clasped behind her back. She leaned forward, nodding towards the school. "Shall we be off, oh King of Cold?" Nora asked.

Releasing another breath, the white haired teen replied. "But of course, Pancake Queen; it would be most unwise to keep our fellows waiting." Because Pyrrha and Ren would probably come looking for them eventually if they didn't show up, just because Ren would assume the worst and Pyrrha was actually a big softy when it came to her team.

Or in general. He still had such a hard time reconciling the _Invincible Girl_ of Mistral with his upbeat, peppy, sweet as could be teammate. The girl didn't seem the type to hurt a fly, and she would probably be appalled at herself if she did; the image of a distraught Pyrrha apologizing to a poor, defenseless fly she had swatted from the air was... actually pretty realistic.

As they walked, himself quiet and Nora humming to herself, he couldn't help but be glad that Nora and the twins got along. It could have gone far worse.

"Say, Jauney?" Nora's voice drew him from his musings. Seeing his head turn towards her curiously, the girl spoke again. "Earlier, when you asked me not to cause trouble, that wasn't because of _me_ right?" Her tone was questioning.

Wincing at that, he replied quickly. "No, no, it's just that, well... It can get kind of rowdy down there sometimes, and I didn't know how you would handle that." He felt bad for wording it in such a way earlier. That was kind of misspoken on his part. "Again, I'm sorry about that. I didn't really word that right."

The ginger girl grinned, her sullen look disappearing. "Were you worried some thug was gonna try and put the moves on me?"

"Actually yeah." Jaune admitted. "You're pretty, I could easily see someone trying that. And you hitting them with Magnhild is the second thing I see when I think of that."

"Pft." Nora stuck her tongue out. "That's not nice. I don't _just_ hit people with a hammer." She also used grenades, he knew that.

He deadpanned at her. "Explosions are the third thing I see. Also the worst thing."

She nodded, accepting that. "Okay, thought you may have forgotten. But you know, Jauney, it's really weird to think that you hang out in a gang hotspot like that." Nora giggled at his surprised look. "Renny had to do some snooping so we could look for you if we needed to. He found some stuff out, and there isn't much that he doesn't tell me." There were some things, though. But she never pried into it that much.

Jaune stopped mid step, looking at her seriously as a realization hit him. "So _that_ was why you insisted on coming along."

She paused as well, quirking her head curiously at him. "Uh... yes? The whole point was to make sure no one messed with our fearless leader, after all." Be they CRDL or some wacko criminal types, Nora was quite adamant on keeping their leader from being hurt.

Considering the shortage she had of people who could put up with her enthusiasm as easily as Ren, even now with her new team, it made Jaune Arc even more important to her.

He shook his head, a light chuckle coming up from his throat. "No, no, I _get_ it. You're _telling_ me this now because you've got me trapped in a corner, Nora."

The girl's turquoise eyes widened a bit. "I dunno what you're talking about, oh Fearless Leader." She denied.

Ignoring her denial, Jaune stepped forward and looked her dead in the eyes, both amused and impressed. "You made friends with Melanie and Miltiades really fast, Nora. At first I thought it was good fortune, you guys just clicked! But I'm thinking that was your plan." He took another step forward, beginning to invade her personal space in a fashion similar to how his own was treated.

"Because now," He began after his pause, "even if you tell me you know what goes on down there, I can't do anything to keep you away; Melanie and Miltia _both_ asked me to bring you along again. You have an excuse to head down to visit so you can see _them_ , and not just to keep an eye on me. And you're telling me you know now, because I can't actually _do_ anything about it." He reached up and, under Nora's cautious gaze... "You trapped me here, Nora... Boop." He poked her lightly on her nose.

She broke down immediately into giggles, leaning up against one of the lightposts on the walk way to keep herself up. "Y-You got me!" Nora managed to get out through her humor, the girl positively tickled with just how he had decided to end his little rant there. "If I told you I knew before we went, you would've been way harder to convince. But now you're already knee deep in it, oh Fearless Leader." Her eyes were practically sparkling in both amusement and satisfaction. "No going back now; you're stuck with me!"

Leaning in closer, staring into her eyes as though trying to figure out just what went on in her head, Jaune eventually gave in with a sigh and a small, exasperated smile. "You know, Nora, you fooled me all this time. You're even smarter than I thought you were, and let me tell you this; I didn't once think you were dumb." She was hyper, she was silly, and she was at times somewhat airheaded... but Nora Valkyrie was not dumb.

"Aw, shucks Jauney!" She replied, waving a hand at him teasingly. "You're gonna make me blush!" Nora didn't get praised for her smarts very often. Considering the way she acted, it just didn't ever come off to people that she was much more than an airhead with a hammer.

But Jaune had figured it out, much like Ren before him. And her "moments" of smart were adding up enough around Pyrrha that Nora suspected her other teammate was beginning to realize that she wasn't quite as ditsy as she seemed.

... okay she _was_ still kind of ditsy, but her point still stood! Just because she sometimes had genius ideas that she didn't think entirely through, such as the amazingness of the pillow fort that she was forced to take down due to Pyrrha's insistence, did not mean she was dumb. That was just what people thought.

"Well." Jaune muttered, stepping back and returning Nora's personal space to her. "I've danced with a stranger that became a friend, been insulted by some girl who knew a little more about me than I'm entirely comfortable with, had some takeout for dinner, barfed that takeout up after I got on a bullhead, and realized I've been thoroughly played by my partner today." He paused, shaking his head and letting loose a little chuckle. "Been an exciting day, Nora, let me tell you."

She giggled in response, bouncing on the balls of her feet. "Welp! Let's head on back. Gotta make sure Renny and Pyrrha know I didn't lose you somewhere in Vale; they'd never let me babysit again!"

And with that, she took off running back towards the dorms, laughing as she went.

Jaune twitched at that, a rather strained grin coming to his lips. "Babysit, huh..." He muttered, quickly breaking out into a run behind her; using timely bursts of wind to give himself a bit more speed, he was going to gain ground on her quickly.

With that in mind, his grin got wider. "Hey, Noooooora~!" He sang, conjuring a pair of snowballs in hand.

His partner turned in time to see this and her eyes widened. "Eek! Jauney's mad! Run for the hills!" One of the snowballs flew past her head. "You better hope that was a warning shot, Jaune! Your aim is slipping if it wasn't!"

The second one very nearly hit her in the back of the head, and Nora wisely chose not to antagonize him more lest his aim spontaneously improve.

* * *

Having calmed down from their game of "run around Beacon while lobbing snowballs at Nora", the half of JNPR that had been out and about that day finally made it back to their dorm room.

Opening the door, Nora offered a bright greeting to the inhabitants of the room. "Reeeeeen~, Pyyyyyyrha~, we're hoooooooooome~!" She sang out happily, still brushing some snow from her hair as she entered.

The remaining set of partners had their own reactions to that; Ren was subdued per the norm, merely quirking a brow at her entrance and the obvious powdered snow she was brushing off before he rolled his eyes. "Welcome back, Nora, Jaune." The teen then returned to the game board located between himself and Pyrrha.

Across from him, the champion fighter was regarding the board with surprising intensity. She looked up to wave at them, before her gaze returned to the game.

Jaune couldn't stifle his chuckle. The two of them had gotten to playing chess with one another almost every night. Pyrrha hadn't manage to claim her win from Ren yet, though that was in no way due to her own skill at the game lacking; Ren was just a natural at it, or so it seemed.

As she skipped into the room, Nora glanced at the board casually. Inspecting it and finding it not to be worth further attention, she flopped back onto her own bed.

Just as Jaune was preparing to enter the room, a hand on his shoulder stopped him.

"Heya, Frosty." Yang spoke up, a wide grin on her lips as she peered into the room over his shoulder. "Guys." She nodded in greeting, getting scattered acknowledgement from everyone. "I gotta borrow your leader for a lil' bit, that cool?"

The shrugs were unanimous. "Bring him back before morning, Yang." Ren said with a small upturn of his lips. "Otherwise we'll have to start a search party."

Giggles came from the other members of the team, before they went back to their business. Nora quickly got her headset out and relaxed on her bed, idly watching the game progress between her teammates.

Jaune himself replied after a moment, turning around to face the girl who had stopped him. "What'cha need?"

"Come with me for a bit." And with that, she began walking off, gesturing for him to follow.

Shrugging again and snapping off a quick wave to his team, he followed along without any strong complaint.

Jaune still didn't necessarily _like_ her that much, but she was Ruby's sister so he wasn't going to be outright spiteful. If she just wanted to talk, that wasn't a big deal. On the other hand, though... "So not to sound like an ass, but I _do_ wanna get some sleep tonight." The Arc teen didn't want to be out all night. He and Nora had taken a good bit of time out in Vale, and it was sort of late.

She tossed him a look over her shoulder. "Just need a bit of your time, Frosty. Gotta make sure we're somewhere private for this chat."

"That sounds ominous, Yang." He muttered blandly as she continued leading him along.

Shrugging in response to that, the girl opened up one of the doors in the hall and peered inside. Seeing it was an empty classroom, she nodded to herself before walking inside and beckoning Jaune to follow.

After a brief moment of hesitation, the white haired boy did so. " _Really_ ominous." He repeated, settling in on one of the desks, leaning back on his hands. "What do you want to talk about so bad that you had to drag me off in the middle of the night?"

She paused for a moment. "I'm going to just be blunt with this; you know what kind of crap goes on at Junior's club, right?" The blonde girl asked, looking at him from her position near the teacher's desk as he relaxed on the front row.

"... people drink, dance, and try to look cool in front of the opposite sex?" Jaune tried, only just trying to play dumb.

Yang growled in response. "Cute, Frosty. But no. The big man has his hands in a lot of things, and most of them aren't legal. If it wasn't for someone around me being involved in that whole thing, I wouldn't have felt a speck of guilt for tearing that place up." After having thought things through, _really_ thought on how she felt about that night, Yang had figured out that she really just _didn't care_ whether or not she inconvenienced those people. They were criminals, even if some of what they did was legal; that didn't make them not guilty of the rest.

If Jaune Arc hadn't been involved at all, she would have forgotten all about that until she needed info on something else... and they would've repeated the process, unless Junior played ball.

If it wasn't for Jaune throwing it in her face as the injured party, she wouldn't have cared; out of sight, out of mind.

Jaune himself growled at that, but didn't contest it. He couldn't _make_ her feel guilty.

Seeing that, Yang continued. "There was a reason I wasn't worried about the cops being called on me for that. It was because Junior couldn't afford that. The only way they can handle things is with the force they can get on their own. It's cuz' they're criminals, and the only reason they haven't been arrested is because the bearded wonder has his ways." Blackmail, more likely than not, keeping people from looking his way. Everyone had skeletons in their closet, and Junior had a way of finding them.

"And your point in all of this is what?" He asked, irritation prominent in his tone. "I get all of that. I know full well that the people there aren't squeaky clean. Does that mean they're not still people, then?" Jaune muttered angrily, before he calmed himself some. Truthfully, Yang wasn't wrong. Wasn't _in_ the wrong. Even if the way she started that fight with them was entirely on her, from a moral standpoint she was the good guy because Junior may as well be a gang leader who's place she'd trashed. Since he was already subverting the law, he couldn't use it to his advantage either. "What are you trying to say?"

Junior, the twins, and every last suit they had on payroll; they were criminals in varying extremes. If someone ever did point an investigation at Junior that he couldn't work his way out of, there wasn't anyone who was clean. He was an extortionist, his men sometimes got hired out to people for dumb muscle, and Jaune couldn't remember the last time anyone was checked for an ID at his club. The twins were enforcers in a sense that they made threats to other gangs in the area, and if those threats were ignored they put them into the ground.

Jaune understood all of that. They weren't nice, and if he wasn't on good terms with them then he would probably not have any qualms with what Yang did.

But he _was_ on good terms with them. He didn't know every random suit and tie goon there by name, but they'd all gotten to the point of acknowledging him when he arrived. He was around enough that the thugs were used to him, and some of them he'd even carried on conversation with because they were okay folks to talk to. Junior wasn't the closest friend he'd ever had, but they got on well enough. The big man was actually pretty fond of him if the twins were to be believed.

And the twins themselves were some of Jaune's favorite people. Melanie and Miltiades Malachite were people he was close with. Even if they had done some bad things in their life, he couldn't fault them for it; they had a rough upbringing and becoming Junior's enforcers got them off the streets and into a comfortable lifestyle.

But Yang wouldn't know anything about their positives, just what they did. And from the perspective of anyone else, it would be the same.

 _He_ was the odd on out, the one who actually cared about these people. And as much as Jaune knew that, and knew that it was perfectly fair, it still kind of made him angry.

"They're people all right, but not good people." Yang replied, stepping closer to him. "And I knew you were hanging out there, I knew you liked those two." He would have to have liked them to get as mad as he did that night. "But at first, I didn't think you had any idea what actually went on there, so I didn't think much on it. And then it hit me that _you_ didn't even think to call the cops on me that night, so you had to have some clue." She paused again for a moment to let that sink in.

Jaune growled a bit. He had kept himself from turning her in to the police for exactly that reason; Junior was an extortionist who had his hands in VPD pretty deep. If he gave them an excuse to launch an investigation, they would find way too much stuff on him. "And what if I did?"

"It wouldn't be that big a problem." Yang answered quickly. "Hey, your favorite hang out is one of the city's not-so-secret secrets. Like half the people that go in there have _some_ clue. Big deal." Seriously, _she_ knew about the place before ever going there. It wasn't hard to find out, but no one with the motivation to do something about it had the ability to.

"And then what _is_ the problem? Because I can't see you dragging me off just to vent like this."

A deep sigh came from the blonde girl, she reached up to run a hand through her long hair. "Look, Fr-... Jaune." She paused, transitioning to using his actual name rather than one of her nicknames for him. "I'm gonna be blunt. Nora isn't too good at keeping secrets, we heard about your little playdate. Rubes lit up like a light bulb and Ice Queen was scandalized."

Jaune grit his teeth visibly, a wide blush on his cheeks. "... Damn it, Nora..." He couldn't be _that_ mad. She probably hadn't realized just how much he didn't want that getting out. "We didn't _do_ anything. That was a misunderstanding."

Briefly, she looked amused. "Sure it was." Yang replied, before her amusement died back down and she became serious again. "Point is you're getting close to those two; really close. And the two of them are bad news." She got closer, leaning forward, almost into his personal space as he sat on the desk. "And Ruby likes you a lot. You were her first friend here, you made her first day go from bad to good all on your own just because you were there for her. I'm never going to stop appreciating that."

"I'm sensing a "but" coming on here, Yang." Jaune offered in response, unconcerned with her drifting closer; his idea of personal space had pretty well left him after all the time he spent with Melanie, the somewhat few and far between incidents with Neo, and now the whole "being Nora's partner" thing.

Her hand slammed down on the desk next to him. "I don't want you around my sister if you're going to be involved with people like that." With that, Yang took a more aggressive stance, as though blocking him from getting off the desk. "Simple as that. You have to pick; them or Ruby." She made this statement with all the finality of death itself.

Jaune, for his part, was flabbergasted by this rather sudden announcement. "W-wait, what!?" She couldn't be serious.

But she didn't budge. "You heard me. Ruby or those twins. We're not walking out that door until you pick."

"How do you expect to _make_ me choose between them?" Jaune was not about to let this girl tell him that he _had to choose_ between the friendship of her little sister, who was all around one of the sweetest, happiest people he had ever met, and the twins who had become some of his closest friends in the last few weeks. There was just no way he _could_ make that decision. He met her gaze, unflinching. "I'm not going to be doing that."

"You will." She replied just as firmly. "Because if you don't, I'm gonna have to do something about it."

He snorted in response. "What? You're going to beat me up?" The boy leaned in close to her, a wide grin on his lips. "Go ahead. Try me." The Arc boy knew full well she had him beat in terms of experience, training, skill, and strength. His advantages over he lay in his speed and the versatility of his Semblance, and little else. Having more Aura than her was irrelevant since she could deplete it in huge chunks. But either way...

"This isn't some bet where if I lose I'm going to give up. There isn't some magic amount you can hurt me to make me surrender." The air around them was frigid by this point. "So what are you going to do? If you go to the professors it's your word against mine, and I actually _haven't done anything_ that breaks the law." Except lying through his teeth like he was right now.

Yang could not _ever_ become privy to his false transcripts. She would have legitimate blackmail on him then, he would have to surrender his friends or his dream.

Ignoring the cold, the lilac eyed girl kept her gaze steady. "I'm not going to fight you, Jaune. This _isn't_ a fight. It really isn't." She stepped away, not backing down, but in a simple gesture that conveyed her sentiment; there was no fight, because she had already won. "I'm the kind of girl who needs to know things from time to time, and Junior's one of the best people for any kind of information. You do the math."

Eyes widening, Jaune's calm broke noticeably. "... You really think Junior won't play along from now on, after what you did? He's not an idiot." Yang had taken on Melanie, Miltiades, himself, and all of their cannon fodder in a marathon that left the place shattered. He would just play ball with her to make her leave.

"All it takes is me getting one guy to throw a punch. You think I can't do that once or twice? That's all it'll take. And even if I can't, it's _my_ word versus _theirs_. Enough goes down around that place, the VPD will finally have an excuse to investigate and Junior won't be able to stop it. Too much attention and that ship sinks." As she spoke, she radiated a calm confidence. Not her usual brashness, but the aura of a woman who knew she had won and was just waiting for her opponent to realize as much. Like she was bored of this, she just wanted him to cave and be done with it.

Jaune Arc faltered. Junior going away would be awful, he was fond of the big man, and the grunts he got on with well enough... but the thought of the Malachite twins behind bars was enough to make him pause.

After a moment of merely staring at Yang, eyes wide and honest fear in them, he calmed himself with a deep breath, exhaling with a chill that sent ice crystals scattering as the moisture before him froze. "So I guess I would just need to stop you each and every time, wouldn't I?" His fist clenched tightly in his anger, cool winds blowing around the empty classroom as Yang watched on.

She was unimpressed. "Are you even listening to yourself, Jaune?"

The use of his name, when all she had ever referred to him before was some variety of her nicknames, actually _grated_ on him. She was speaking to him like he was a child who didn't know what they were saying. She was talking to him like she was his mother and she knew better than him, like he was just being an idiot and eventually he would thank her for this.

He knew full well what he was doing, what he had said! "I said I would protect my _friends_ from someone trying to hurt them." The teen reiterated firmly, eyes locked on hers and standing tall.

Yang shook her head with a sigh, her long, blonde hair cascading around her like a golden waterfall. "And when the teachers get involved and wonder just what your deal is?" She asked. "If we get into it enough in Vale, they're gonna ask questions. And all _I'm_ doing is defending myself after someone gets set off, or at the absolute worst I'm taking action against criminals in Vale. And you'll be the one _helping_ them. What's the going to say about you?"

That had his teeth gritting so hard he was afraid he was going to damage his Aura. As he tried to keep from giving himself away, Jaune Arc had to admit that she had him.

Damn it, she _had_ him!

And with that realization came the falter. The room became colder, the windows beginning to show signs of it. Their hair was tousled by winds that circulated the room, winds that weren't under his control.

Jaune Arc was boiling with rage. He wanted to fight back. He wanted to make her _pay_ for this. For trying to take away his friends or his dream, leaving him in a situation he couldn't find a way out of.

The white haired teen had no qualms with losing. It wasn't the fact that she had outplayed him that infuriated him.

It was the stakes. No matter what his choice, he lost something of incredible value to him.

He wanted to fight back. So badly. It was something he wanted to do more than anything else.

But even if he fought her, even if he won... it wouldn't change anything.

Should he break down and make the choice, he would either sacrifice his friendship with the twins or he would deny Ruby her first friend from Beacon.

And outright denying Yang would result in a downward spiral of events that would likely culminate in the dream he was willing to risk his life for being stolen from him, the loss of Ruby's friendship as her view of him was destroyed, and the loss of _his team_.

He couldn't make that choice. He would lose everything, yes, but worse would be all of the people who he would hurt. His team, Ruby, perhaps even Blake and Weiss.

And if he chose the twins, he would be forced to isolate himself from Ruby, who would want to know why. And he would have to lie to her, because it was clear that Yang would not be able to do this with her approval. And her knowing what Yang was doing would lead to a confrontation between the sisters, in which Yang would smear his reputation with her before going straight into her threats and culminating in that worst case scenario.

But cutting out the twins, Melanie and Miltiades, who had been so kind to him, who had become such good friends... to do that _hurt_ him. Of course it would hurt if he were to begin ignoring Ruby, he would be reminded of his decision each and every day for four years, but Ruby had other friends. Eventually she would move on, even if she began to hate him for it.

Melanie and Miltiades had only themselves and Junior. They'd said as much themselves. And the two of them were strong, he knew that, his disappearance wouldn't be the end of the world for them. But just the thought of hurting them like that hurt _him_ just as badly.

Emotions in a rage, he was just short of roaring in fury, at the world for putting him in this situation, at _anything_ he could think of, just to release this anger, just short of attacking Yang for bringing him to this point...

And then, his rage cooled. As if washed away by a harsh winter wind, the fury was chilled. His breathing was heavy, the lingering anger taking a toll on him, but he remained calm rather than exploding. He didn't know how or why this happened, but this was what became of his anger now. Whenever it got too far, he found himself losing control, it was like a switch flipped in his head.

His anger didn't burn. It merely froze and sharpened, waiting for it's time to be unleashed.

"You win." He stated simply, dull eyes meeting those of his opponent. She didn't even nod, as though she had expected this and it was just a foregone conclusion.

She was right. Jaune never had a chance to win here. This wasn't a fight. It was simply delivery of terms. He realized that now.

"I need to hear you say it, Jaune." She insisted sternly. "What do you choose? Them, or Ruby?"

This almost goaded him back into anger, but he restrained himself. "Don't act like you don't know!" He growled out, clenching his hand tightly. "You make it sound like I have a choice, but we both know you came in here knowing I had one option! You know _exactly_ what kind of situation you put me in!"

It had to be the twins. He couldn't afford to run the risk of slipping in front of Ruby, causing her suspicions to land on Yang. If Yang was caught blackmailing him, he would still go down. She could tolerate the hit it would bring to her relationship with her sister, she would have time to fix things. And she knew that.

"Say it." Yang repeated, unmoved.

"I choose Ruby." Jaune snarled out. "There, are you happy now? I give up, Yang! You win!" Calming himself again, taking more deep breaths and forcing back the frustrated tears that threatened to spill out, he turned to face one of the windows just so he wouldn't have to _look_ at her. "Now... just leave me the hell alone." Jaune wanted nothing to do with Yang for the foreseeable future. "I don't even want to _think_ about you right now."

The sound of footsteps was music to his ears, as they were moving _away_ from him. But before she left, Yang had one thing left to say.

"You said I'm putting you in this situation. That's not it." She kept her voice steady, calm. Just as she had been this whole time, the voice of someone who never had victory in question. "You put yourself here. You're the only one to blame."

And with that, she was gone.

Wide blue eyes stared out the window, as Jaune's whole body shook.

He was furious. At himself. At Yang. At the world.

Because she was right. Because of the way he had done things, this situation was inevitable. He faked his way in, put himself in a position where he needed to be as unnoticed as possible. He befriended the twins because of how he had gotten in, made tangible connections with people he knew were on the wrong side of the law. He'd set himself up for failure.

He'd even gone further now, actively agreeing to work with Roman and Neo.

Jaune had thought of what may happen if people found out about that, at least. That was, for certain, a dangerous agreement he had made. One that, in time, could prove to be worth the risk. But it was a risk nonetheless.

But Melanie and Miltia? They were just _friends_. He had no stake in their business outside of whether or not it put them in danger. He wasn't involved with them for connections. He was just there because the two of them were his friends.

Jaune almost began laughing. "I can't believe it. I can't freaking believe this happened." Of all the things to happen, to trip him up, it was _this_. And from Yang of all people? The punny berserker of an older sister to one of his favorite people, a girl he expected to eventually get along with after he finally got over her involvement in hurting the twins, was blackmailing him and threatening those same friends again.

Needless to say, he was done with her. Staring out over the darkened campus, Jaune sighed once more and rested his head against the glass. After a few moments, fern-like patterns of ice began spreading across it.

An Arc was not the type to give up so easily. He would find a way out of this if it killed him, he would have his friends- all of them!- and his future as well.

And damn anyone fool enough to try and stop him.

* * *

 **AN:** So yeah. That happened. We now have _actual_ conflict in Beacon rather than CRDL being moderately annoying and whatnot, and it's Yang that's holding the sword over our boy's head. That ought to be fun.

So yeah. I thought this chapter would get to Forever Fall. It didn't. Expect that next chapter!


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